


The Gun Horse

by JulianGreystoke



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 18:13:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12304824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JulianGreystoke/pseuds/JulianGreystoke





	The Gun Horse

**The Gun Horse**

 

It all began with the bad smell.

 

The sun was setting golden behind the trees and I was in my pasture, enjoying the dry, late-summer grass and noting the tang of the first fall of autumn’s leaves, when I smelled it. At first I thought I had nosed my way into a pile of raccoon scat, but I raised my head the bad smell was still there. It clung to the insides of my flared nostrils like a vile pollen. I wrinkled my nose and huffed out a mighty breath.

 

The smell was like the death stink that came from the butchering shed after my human killed a deer. Only there was something else under it this time. Deer, or fish, or even turkeys have their own unique dead-smells and alive-smells. This wasn't like any of those. It was more like the entrails that my human discarded after he was finished.

 

The more I breathed, the more the bad smell filled my nose and my mind. I swiveled my ears around and raised my tail. I trotted around the pasture, searching the dense tree cover, the path down the long driveway. I eyed the human's truck, in case it was somehow the source of the badness. That noisy box on wheels was known to produce some noxious fumes from time to time. Today, however, it sat cold and unused. My human had been inside all day, only coming out to let Macy and Buddy urinate (which is apparently not allowed in the house) and to feed me my breakfast.

 

Before I could make a second circuit of my pasture I was stalled by several decidedly unnatural sounds coming from the house. I snapped my head up, cupping both keen ears towards the building. My skin quivered as if a thousand flies had all landed on me at once. I wasn't afraid of the rattle of wind in the trees, or the hiss of the long grass in my pasture. I had learned that a tarp on the ground wasn't a threat, even thought it crackled and fluttered unpredictably. My human worked long and hard to ease each and every one of my fears. I was even used to the cracking explosion of gunfire. None of those sounds were anything to twitch an ear at compared to what I heard from the house that day.

 

The report of a gun joined the cacophony, (so unnatural coming from my human's home). The splintered shattering of glass, the barking of two dogs. I couldn't see what was happening. The widows reflected the trees that shifted as uneasily as I did in a breeze infected with that vile smell. I was about to start my trotting again when one of the dogs let out an unnatural cry that set every nerve in my body afire. Once, I had heard a coyote killing a rabbit in the night and the scream that little animal had made in the end... this sound was worse. That terrible, twisted, pain sound that made me dart to the farthest reach of my pasture and stare back at the house hoping that this time the staring pools of glass would offer me an answer.

 

I needed my human. Where was he?

 

The front door crashed open and Macy shot out as though someone had lit her stump of a tail on fire. She careened across the yard and ran all the way to the treeline before turning, her ears pinned down and her fur raised.

 

I snorted, just to let the spooked cattle dog know that I was there and I was watching. I wanted to call to her, to ask her where my human was, but I hesitated. Macy and I had learned to speak to one another both verbally, and with body language over our years as friends. Buddy, the golden retriever, was a bit slower, and sometimes we still had trouble, but not me and Macy. Now though, she wasn't looking at me. She was staring at the house with eyes as wide as two moons.

 

Another cry came from the house, this one human. It wasn't as tortured as the one a dog had made, but my skin still twitched. Fire ants of panic were crawling across me and, like Macy, I couldn't take my eyes from the now open front door.

 

My human was there at last! He was wearing one of the flannel shirts he wore to relax and gripping his hunting rifle. When he carried the gun he normally decked himself and me out in special hunting colors and reflectors. I had come to think perhaps the gun didn't work unless we both fairly glowed like twin fireflies.

 

My human had the rifle tucked under his arm, his hands shaking and fumbling at it. He was clumsy, like he was drunk. I had never liked that smell on him, or the way it made him shout too much, but now he wasn't shouting. Now his face was pale as moonlight and his lips had gone purple. He pawed at the rifle, as if he couldn't remember how it worked.

 

He raised his head to look at me. With a few unsteady motions he staggered from the porch towards my pasture gate, which was near my little barn, across the pasture from where I stood transfixed. Was he going to feed me dinner early? Were we going on a hunt? Didn't he smell that horrible scent? Didn't he know that Buddy wasn't anywhere to be seen?

 

The bad smell returned in force and I wrinkled my nose, stepping back so far that my tail brushed the wooden slats of my fence. At first I watched my master as he made his clumsy way towards the gate, but now I saw something else tumble awkwardly from the house. Another human. Except it wasn't a human at all. It looked like a human. It walked up on two legs like a human. Instead of the earthy, almost pleasant odor of a person, this creature brought the bad smell with it. I pinned back my ears and wrinkled my lip in disgust.

 

The bad smell human was shambling after my human. My human whipped gate open and shouted at me, “Kodiak! GIT! Get out, horse! Go!”

 

I stared at him, not understanding. He didn't shout. Not even when he got drunk. This was so very wrong. Had I eaten a bad bad plant? Was I laying on the ground, twitching in some fevered dream while my human crouched worriedly over me? My hock hit a fence slat as I tried to back away further, my breathing coming in fearful gasps. The pain was enough to make me realize that I was still in this world.

 

 _Run, Kodiak!_ This time it was Macy's bark, jarring me from a state of frozen panic. I looked to her, wondering if it was safe to try.

 

Another bad smell human was shambling from the house. And a third. My human left the gate open and ran as best he could. He was limping. The air was spiced with another smell I knew, but had previously only associated with hunting. Blood.

 

 _Kodiak, go!_ Macy barked again, still stationed at the treeline. _Those other humans are bad!_

 

“Macy! Get out of here, dog!” My human was shouting and waving his arms, and the rifle, at Macy in a wild 'shooing' gesture. “Go, Macy! You GIT!”

 

If Macy had had any tail to speak of I knew it would be tucked between her legs. She loved my human as much as I did, but those bad smell humans were so close. Why wasn't Macy hurting those false people? I had seen her chase off raccoons, coyotes, and once a shady man who was lingering at the edge of my pasture. Macy was brave and loyal to the core, but now she cowered, shaking almost as much as I was.

 

My human lurched around to look at me. I saw his eyes, far away as I was, full of an inexplicable pleading. “Kodiak, get out of here, boy. Go on.” His voice was weaker. My heart thudded as if I had been galloping all day.

 

One of the bad smell humans reached my human. It leaped on him, arms outstretched, and bore my human to the ground. The gun went off again and I saw the bright crack of fire that always burst from the end, but the bad smell human didn't die even as the bullet lodged into its chest. Instead the monster clawed and bit at my human while he screamed, trying feebly to defend himself with his arms.

 

 _Macy! Help him!_ I whinnied.

 

Macy didn't move. It was her turn to stare in abject horror as the creatures that looked like humans descended on our poor master. They beat and clawed at him until he stopped screaming and lay still.

 

Now I knew what these creatures were. They were wolves. Wolves in human skins. I couldn't fathom how or when they had learned this trick; learned to walk upright and grasp with their hands, but I knew. These were predators that had killed my human and now feasted as their disgusting rotted flesh smell filled my nostrils and my mind with a poison fog.

 

My human had opened the gate. I wasn't supposed to go out without him, without my halter and rope. I stared for a moment longer, hoping that somehow my human would rally. Would rise up and kill all these wolves with the gun that lay in the gravel beside him. He did not. There was no one to lead me out of my pasture but me.

 

I began to walk towards my gate, still keeping a close eye on the wolf-humans as they fed. If horses were capable of vomiting, I would have when the odor of my human's insides joined the rank stink already in the air. I heard Macy retching over the sounds of bones cracking and teeth tearing muscle.

 

The terrible creatures ignored me as I stepped from my pasture, each step feeling like a breech of trust. Bad horses escaped the pasture. My human would be upset...no. There was no human here now. I had no choice. I whispered a silent _I'm sorry_ to him as I skirted wide around his fallen form, heading for the trees.

 

I trotted to where Macy was still standing. She looked up at me with her dark eyes, more full of fear than I had ever seen them. _We need to go._

 

 _We can't go, Macy. We live here. Where would we go?_ I asked even as I knew there was no answer. _Where's Buddy?_ I looked to the open front door of the house, expecting the big golden to come loping out, shamefaced.

 

 _Buddy... Buddy's dead._ Macy drooped her head low, whimpering in high whistles. _When those bad humans came Buddy and I tried to fight them. I got away when they grabbed at me, but Buddy... he couldn't. They were so strong even a big dog like him couldn't fight them. They killed him, Kodiak. They would have killed me too, and you. That's why we need to leave._

 

 _Alright,_ I breathed, swishing my tail nervously, _I suppose so._

 

Neither of us moved. We stared as the wolves rapidly devoured what was left of our friend and caretaker. As animals we know of death. I had seen my human kill many deer and I knew that later he would eat them. Macy would eat them too, even though she didn't kill them herself. I wasn't eaten because I was useful for other things. I could walk far over rough terrain where the smelly truck couldn't go. Macy and Buddy were not eaten because they kept my human company inside the house. I imagined that on cold nights in winter they must have kept him warm. Poor humans had no winter fur for protection.

 

Yet, even as I understood the scene in the yard, there was a wrongness that I had never experienced. Predators had come and killed my human. They ate him, which was what happened when you died. I had long assumed that when I died, far in the future, my human would eat me too. Yet my insides twisted and I couldn't look any more as the creatures chewed pink flesh from bone. A good horse would stand vigil with a dead friend.

 

I had walked out of the gate alone. I was not a good horse.

 

Macy and I turned and hurried away into the trees, the light dusting of early autumn leaves crackling under hoof and paw.

 

Macy stuck close to me because my vision in the dark was better than hers. The wind smelled cleaner already. I knew the land around our home well, though it felt wrong to walk it with neither saddle nor bridle. I kept expecting my human to come running after us, brandishing my rope and scolding, to take us home. As many times as I looked back, there was nothing by trees and long shadows.

 

We walked all night. I led us in a spiral. I wasn't ready to strike out straight away from home. Instead I wound us around and around, getting a little further out each time.

 

~~~~~

 

When morning came we rested. Macy curled up under a fallen tree, still partially propped on its branches. I stood nearby, eating what grass I could find. Where the trees were dense like this, not much grew but moss and ferns. I've never been one for ferns. Too stringy. Today I ate them.

 

Later, Macy struck out to hunt for her own food. There was no one to fill her bowl now, but I knew she loved to chase rabbits in the yard. She was better at it than Buddy, who lolloped around, scaring everything small and furry within a mile radius. Macy was cleverer. It took her longer than I liked, but eventually she padded back to me with rabbit blood on her lips, panting with satisfaction.

 

We traveled onward, some unspoken urge driving us to move. Perhaps it was the memory of those wolf-humans. When they had finished eating my human and poor Buddy, what was to stop them coming to hunt us too? If they could kill dogs, with their sharp teeth and claws, what would they do to an herbivore like me?

 

Macy and I hadn't spoken more than what was strictly necessary in our travels thus far. It seemed we had some silent agreement that we would not talk of what we had seen back in the yard, though the image of the wolf-humans devouring my human was still as intrusive as harsh sunlight in my eyes. On the third day I was the one who finally spoke. _We're getting closer to the edge of the land I know._

 

 _So?_ Macy cocked one of her sharp little ears at me.

 

 _So, I don't like going outside the land that I know,_ I huffed. I stopped to snatch a bite from a patch of sweet clover.

 

 _Why not?_ Macy asked, her pink tongue lolling in the midday warmth.

 

 _Well..._ I pondered my answer. Why did just thinking of what lay beyond our familiar territory make me shudder? I imagined a cliff dropping off into nothingness or the forest changing from sunlit and beautiful to bleak and filled with clawing tree branches and slathering predators. I decided not to mention that I was already on edge without my human's strong, steady presence on my back. Without a guiding hand to my reins I was wandering in a world that seemed a bit off, like everything listed faintly to the left. _I suppose... I suppose it's because I'm a horse. Horses don't like to go to new places very much._

 

 _But aren't you supposed to be some kind of wild horse?_ Macy scoffed.

 

I sighed. When my human had used to have friends over he would bring them out to play with the dogs and meet me. They'd lean against my fence and watch me graze, chatting and sipping beers. Sometimes, if I wound my way over to them, they'd have treats. My human would smile proudly and pet my neck, extolling my virtues. “Kodiak is a true blue Mustang. He was born in the wild and I got him in an adoption event when he was still a spooky little foal. Had to travel all the way to Nevada for him. Best trip I ever made.”

 

“That's quite a trek from Wisconsin,” people would inevitably say with raised eyebrows. “How'd you get there and back?”

 

“Drove.” My human would answer proudly. “Horse trailer and all.”

 

The other humans would 'Ooo' and 'ahh' looking at me with renewed amazement, as though I had walked the distance. Not that I knew how far it was to the place called Nevada. I still don't much fancy the horse trailer and I wonder sometimes of the long ride I can't remember had something to do with that.

 

 _Macy, I may have been wild once, but I was a baby. I don't even remember any of it._ My earliest memories were of my human.

 

 _Well what use are you then?_ Macy asked, but her stump tail was wagging. She was sassing me.

 

I raised my head and looked around the little clearing where the clover grew plentiful and sweet. My human and I had found a doe here, enjoying the very clover I was munching. He chosen not to shoot her, for reasons I didn't understand, but decided I didn't need to. In my mind's eye I saw my human standing beside me, holding my reins and occasionally patting my neck. Nothing could harm me when he was there. If horses could cry I would have in that sunlit clearing of fragrant memories. Instead, I turned and followed Macy into the thick of the woods.

 

At dusk Macy proclaimed that he was going to hunt up another rabbit. I watched her go and was just nosing my way into a patch of spindly weeds when I smelled the familiar odor of deer. Normally I would hang back, knowing my human would want to dismount and stalk it the rest of the way on foot.

 

Deer don't often fancy the look of me, even though I am a grass eater like them. I'm big and I often have a human on my back, which they are even less keen on. As soon as this young doe was in view I lowered my head, nose almost brushing the tops of the mossy earth, universal animal shorthand for 'I am an herbivore'.

 

The deer took me in, stamping a hind foot. The wind had disguised my approach, but now she couldn't miss me. I understood her gesture. In horses and deer this means _Don't come any nearer or I bolt!_ I stopped, head still bowed. Deer language is close to horse, but it isn't completely compatible. Some gestures are subtler with deer, and horses have more complexity of emotion.

 

 _What want, big deer?_ She asked with her ears and her posture.

 

'Big deer?' I tried not wish my tail in laughter. There was no gesture in the deer language for 'horse' so I let it slide. It was better than the time I was pretty sure a raccoon referred to me as 'Skinny Cow'. _Have you seen the wolf-humans, friend?_ I asked, using my politest body language.

 

_Wolf-Humans?_

 

 _The bad smell humans,_ I tried. _They they have a scent like death and rotting blood._

 

The doe's huge, cupped ears spread forward. _Yes! Have seen! Have smelled! Look like humans, are not humans. No guns. They make sad sounds and shamble. We deer watch, see. They hunt other humans. We like the bad smell humans._

 

I shuddered inwardly. Of course deer would like anything that attacked the creatures that hunted them. _Do the bad smell humans attack other animals?_

 

 _Humans_ _ **not**_ _animals,_ scoffed the deer, swishing her tail in disgust. _We see the bad smell humans will hunt deer. Will eat the dead too, they not care. Healthy deer too swift, all outrun bad smell humans._

 

 _Good._ I twitched my lip. If the deer were faster than these strange predators, so too would I and Macy be.

 

The doe smirked at me. At least I thought she did. Deer don't normally smirk. W _hat you do without human?_ She gestured at me with her angular head.

 

 _Hmm?_ My ears sunk back, I was stung, though I wasn't certain why.

 

 _You tall deers love humans. Work for them._ The doe made a face of disgust I couldn't mistake this time. _Ugly, smelly, humans. What you do without one?_

 

 _Do you mean, where is my human?_ I asked. My muscles tightened and I fought back the memories. I had run... perhaps I should have stayed. Attacked those wolf-humans. But they'd killed Buddy, who had sharp claws and teeth... My head drooped again. What a coward I was. After all those years my human spent teaching me there was nothing to fear, the moment there was trouble, I fled. _My human is dead._ Many animals would call us horses blunt, but I never saw the point dancing around a subject, no matter how unpleasant it is. _The bad smell humans ate him._

 

 _Good_ , sniffed the deer. Then her smirk returned. _You die too? In winter?_ _No human to feed you. No human to keep you in silly big deer house._

 

 _It's called a barn._ My skin twitched with annoyance.

 

 _Whatever._ The deer flicked her tail. _What you do when winter come and no one give you food?_

 

 _I'll survive_ , I said, stubbornly raising my head. She flinched at my quick motion and it was my turn to smirk. At least I knew better than to jump at every shadow.

 

The deer composed herself, ears cupped forward again. _You can try, big deer. You can try. When no food come and you get skinny and slow, maybe bad smell humans eat you._

 

I stamped a forehoof. The deer shied back. I tossed my mane and flared my nostrils, taking two meaningful steps towards the deer. She stood, muscles tight and ready, for a moment, before she turned and bounded off into the trees, white flag of a tail raised high.

 

I watched her go then took a moment to scent the breeze. There was only the coll scent of trees and a nearby stream. Had she been right? Would I die this winter without a human to watch over me? I snorted loudly and walked back to where Macy had left me to wait for her. She took her time getting back so I chewed bitter forest plants and let my mind wander.

 

 _Kodiak!_ My dog friend's excited 'woof' dragged me from dark memories. I was recalling a day when my human and I had spent from dawn until dusk hunting far afield. It was a good hunt, but we were were both sore and bug bitten as we dragged our feet home. Rather than going into the house to take care of himself, my human stayed in my barn to brush me, and give me a little wash with the hose, which I have always enjoyed. I played in the water and splashed it all over him, but he didn't mind. He put on my fly-blanket and mask for turnout. He talked to me the whole time about anything that came into his head because he knew I liked the quiet rumble of his voice. Sometimes he would sing and that was even better.

 

 _Kodiak! People! Real people, not the bad smell kind!_ Macy appeared from the undergrowth, burrs clinging to her dense fur. Her whole body wagged enthusiastically. _They gave me some jerky! Come on, Kodiak, maybe they can help us!_

 

I followed my canine friend with caution. Humans generally loved dogs, horses not so much. What else could I do but trail along after my companion as she carved a little path through the ferns?

 

We came on the people just over a small rise and past a familiar clump of trees. I smelled their camp long before I saw it. The acrid odor of human sweat, of old campfire smoke and food about to go bad.

 

They had set themselves up in a little valley near a stream. I knew the place, though I had only been there once. We were right on the edge of the territory I knew. Of course, when my human and I had been here, there hadn't been ragged little tents; obnoxiously bright canvas stained with wear.

 

Four humans milled around the camp, which even I could tell was poorly constructed. The people wore clothes that smelled as though they had not been changed in some time. It had been my understanding that humans liked to put on clean clothes often, so I wondered that these ones did not.

 

I'd seen 'city campers' before. How inept they were at anything that had to do with the outdoors. My human always had a laugh as he'd poke quiet fun at them in my ear. We always kept well back and usually went unseen.

 

These humans noticed me.

 

“Jeremy, look! It's a fucking horse! A mother fucking horse right in the middle of the woods!” One of the male humans shouted, pointing.

 

Another raised his shaggy head from where he had been digging in a gnarled backpack. “Well I'll be damned.”

 

“Oh!” A female human cried, “the dog is back and she brought a friend! Here, puppy, want another treat?” The woman extracted a plastic bag from the pocket of her cargo shorts and extracted a piece of spicy smelling dried meat.

 

Macy was smitten. She bounced towards the woman, stump tail wagging furiously, tongue lolling as she politely took the offered snack. I flared my nostrils, uneasy and I swayed back. Macy might like these silly humans after a few bites of a favorite snack, but I was much less certain of them.

 

“Lyn, would you stop feeding our precious food to the fucking dog?” The first man snapped. His harsh tone made me stiffen. I could bolt into the wood in a heartbeat if need be.

 

“But Kev, she's hungry!” The woman pleaded, already pulling another strip of jerky free and dangling it over Macy's eager face.

 

“Lyn! Stop! Who knows when we'll find another gas station to raid!” Kev objected, scowling.

 

Too late. The jerky had already disappeared down Macy's greedy maw. The one called Lyn smiled smuggly. “Come on, Kev. Un-clench for a second will you? She reminds me of Digger!”

 

“Except Digger was a corgi and this is a... I don't know what,” grouched Kev, glaring at Macy.

 

I studied each of these strangers in turn. They all carried guns. Some had foolishly tucked handguns into the backs of their pants, while the man called Jeremy had a holster.

 

The fourth human made himself heard, looking sour and disgruntled. He was younger than the others, with a shock of greasy black hair and little pink dots all over his face. “I don't like horses. They're dangerous.” He stood as far from me as he could while still remaining in the camp.

 

“A horse could be useful,” Jeremy pointed out, giving me an appraising look with both eyebrows raised. He's been staring at me while Kev and Lyn argued, but he hadn't made a movie. “Could carry all our gear.”

 

“Until we find a car. Then what?” Kev planted his hands on his hips, ignoring Lyn long enough for her to sneak Macy another treat.

 

“Then we leave it,” Jeremy shrugged. “The animal seems to have been doing fine on its own before now. Maybe we can get some use out of it-- sorry, _him_.” Jeremy leaned to the side, peering under my belly to determine my sex. It growing ever clearer that none of these people knew the first thing about horses. Perhaps they wouldn't harm me, but I wasn't terribly keen on joining their little tent family.

 

“I don't like horses!” The young human said again, louder, more petulant. “They smell bad and kick people in the head.”

 

I snapped my tail indignantly. I had never in my life kicked anyone in the head. Admittedly, when I was very young and untrained, I had kicked the farrier in the knee. Not hard. He had strong words with me and I learned better.

 

“I suppose we could keep him around for a while,” The one called Kev relented, ignoring the youth.

 

Jeremy seemed pleased and into one of the raggedy tents, reemerging with a coil of rope. I snorted and flared my nostrils. Rope meant capture and, unlike Macy, I wasn't so certain that capture by these people was a good thing. As Jeremy moved towards me, I stepped back, head up, ears forward. My human would have known right away to adjust his approach. That I was nervous. This human just kept coming, though he did speak softly to me, hand outstretched. “Hey now, fella. Whoa. Steady now. I'm not going to hurt you. Wouldn't you like a nice family to be with instead of wandering alone?”

 

I let him get close enough to touch me; his fingers gingerly brushed my muzzle. At least he was gentle. My eyes gleamed with mischief as I allowed him to step up beside me, stroking my neck. It was nice to be petted again, no matter who by. The moment Jeremy raised that rope to put it around my neck, however, I jerked my head up, danced sideways, and trotted just out of reach. I raised my tail in mocking laughter.

 

“See!” The youth pointed at me. “It's a bad horse. Probably not even trained.”

 

“Maybe he was abused,” the woman, Lyn crooned, her expression growing soft as she looked at me.

 

 _Abused?_ I swished my tail again. _Human, have you ever seen a horse as fit and healthy as me that was abused? No, your companion has no idea what he's doing. I'm having a good time toying with him._ I stepped again, letting Jeremy think that this time he would have me, before easily slipping away with another toss of my head.

 

 _Come on, Kodiak,_ said Macy, chewing another strip of dried meat. I heard Kev groan in annoyance when he spotted her. _These people are nice._

 

_These people don't know horses at all._

 

 _So? I bet they will still find something good for you to eat_. Macy gave me an encouraging dog-grin, ears pricked.

 

 _If they did, don't you think the would have given it to me by now?_ I jerked my head back and danced as the man attempted to slip the rope around my neck a third time. I accidentally smacked my rump into a tree and used the surprise as an excuse to balk even further from him.

 

“Be careful!” Lyn called. “Don't lose him!” Clearly she had latched on to this idea of having a horse, even as I steadily grew less and less interested in joining this little band. Jeremy was coiling the rope for another go and his breathing was tighter, his shoulders noticeably squared. He was growing tired of my antics and he might try a less friendly technique this time. I rolled my eyes at him, showing him the whites in a warning I doubted he understood.

 

“Dad, stop it. We don't need a stupid horse,” the teen grouched, slouching further away from me as I wove my way out of Jeremy's reach.

 

I trotted mockingly around to a the far end of the camp and all my senses flared as one, my attention ripped from the man with the rope. I'd shifted into the breeze and now an all to familiar scent assaulted my nose. Death. Sour decay like entrails left in the sun. A stink like bloated roadkill. I pulled away from the foolish human one last time and trotted a good distance from them and turned around. _MACY! I whinnied. Get out of there!_ _Wolf-humans are coming!_

 

 _What?_ Macy was up on her hind legs, dancing as she begged for her next treat, the odor of dried meats clearly obscuring her senses. I didn't have time to scold her for her intention. The danger was drawing nearer, fast.

 

 _Macy, get out!_ I stamped a forehoof, everything in me was screaming to run. The deer said that she could outpace the wolf-humans so I knew I could too. Even Macy likely could. I was growing dangerously close to bolting and hoping she was able to track me.

 

The wolf-humans broke through the dense undergrowth, coming up from the blind side of the human camp. I wondered if the vile creatures used some type of hunting strategy, or it it was dumb luck that saw them shambling in from downwind.

 

In moments there was chaos. The humans shrieked and grabbed for guns. Just as I might have predicted, the one called Kev, who had his handgun down the back of his pants, fumbled for the weapon and shot himself in the leg. The report of the gunshot made me flinch almost imperceptibly. I was well trained, but the bone rattling bang that all guns made still set my teeth on edge. The scream of agony that followed, however, did send me prancing away before I turned and watched, partially obscured by trees.

 

Kev crumpled to his knees as Lyn too yelled and scrambled to reach him, tripping over poor Macy in the process. I heard my dog friend yelp as she scurried clear, rushing from camp and running in a wide arc to join me where I stood, transfixed.

 

I had intended to flee as soon as Macy was back at my side, but instead I found my legs mired in an invisible swamp. I was mesmerized, watching the struggle in the human camp play out. I was admittedly impressed by the one called Lyn. She grabbed the gun from Kev, who was rolling on the ground, hands clasped over the bullet hole in his calf. She crouched over him, firing at the wolf-humans. At first I thought the campers would surely win this fight. My human had been struggling to free Macy and I when he had died. I assumed that was why he had not been able to fight off the predators. Now, however, I saw that my human may have had a very different issue.

 

Dark blood spouted gelatinously from the wolf-humans' torsos with each shot, and I waited expectantly for them to fall. Instead, they flinched, then shuffled onward, gnashing their teeth, their eyes too wide and unblinking.

 

 _What?_ Macy was standing under me, trembling body tucked up against my front legs. _Kodiak, let's go._ She whined with that high sound that is almost a whistle. I twitched one ear towards her before refocusing on the strange battle spreading before me. I wanted to understand how these wolf-humans worked.

 

 _Look, Macy, the bullets don't hurt them,_ I pointed out.

 

My friend shifted to peer between my legs. The first shambling monster had managed to grab Kev as Lyn tried to haul him away, and another was taking a good chomp out of his shin as he screamed. The other two humans, Jeremy and the teen, had fled to a safer distanve, clearly unwilling to get close enough to help their friends, though they unloaded an alarming number of seemingly useless bullets into the wolf-humans.

 

 _The bullets hurt that one._ Macy crept from under me and pointed with her nose. _See. He's dead._

 

She was right. The one that had been gnashing on Kev's leg was now laying draped over it, limp and, if possible, even more foul smelling. _Huh_ , I mused. _I wonder what they did differently to kill that one._

 

The humans were all screaming. I doubted did them one bit of good. Horses know to save their breath for running in a dangerous situation. Then again, the wolf-humans were ignoring Macy and me for the moment. Perhaps I would be screaming too, if I was in those people's places.

 

“Oh god, oh god, Kev!” Lyn was weeping. She'd stopped trying to drag the man and had finally drawn away from him, fear etched deeply across her face. When they're scared, humans are as easy to read as horses. My muscles vibrated with electric energy, but I had no idea where to direct it. Something about this fight had me as wired and fidgety as the first warm day after a long winter.

 

“Go! Get Lucas out of here! Don't look back!” Kev shouted, making wide gestures at the other humans while more predators poured in. Now the wolf-humans were ignoring Kev. Weren't they going to eat him? Perhaps they wanted the whole human herd downed before they fed.

 

“No! No no no!” Wailed Lyn. Her grief made her slow. Moments later one of the wolf-humans had her. She shot it several times before the gun clicked uselessly in her hand. The monster bore her to the ground, still screaming and writhing. “Jeremy!” she managed before one of the wolf-humans latched its teeth into her neck, bathing its face in her cherry red blood.

 

Jeremy took his hint to flee, though the boy, who I could only assume was named Luccas, seemed to be losing his mind. “NO!” He keened as Jeremy grabbed him under the arms and hauled him bodily away from the danger. “MOM! DAD! NOOO!”

 

I watched Jeremy and Lucas' retreat, trailing several of the speedier wolf-humans in their wake. Macy and I didn't move. Now, certainly, the bizarre predators would feed. It was deeply unsettling to see their twisted human faces and two legged bodies as they lurched through the camp, bumping into tents as though they little noticed or cared. I imagined one of them wearing the face of my human and shuddered.

 

Kev had gone silent after what remained of his family had fled. I thought he still might be able to get away, if he really tried. I knew humans could tolerate a great deal of pain. Instead he sat still, and eventually slumped over. _Come on, Kodiak, we should leave,_ pleaded Macy, trotting around me in nervous circles.

 

 _No... wait... do you smell it?_ I stretched my neck around the tree, breathing in, my keen sense of smell noting every leaf, every drop of blood.

 

Macy stopped, tilting her head up to catch the same breeze. _The human scent is fading. It makes sense. The humans ran away, and we should too. Come on, let's go!_

 

 _No... it shouldn't be fading this fast_. I switshed my tail in concentration, my lip twitching as though I could reach out and pluck the strange odor from the air.

 

Kev sat back up. Moments later so did Lyn. Only they weren't Kev and Lyn. They were wolf-humans wearing Kev and Lyn's skins. I could smell it on them. All their human-ness was gone, replaced with the stench of grotesque decay. Not-Kev pushed to his feet, his eyes as empty and as filled with the same hollow hunger as his new fellows. _How... How do they wear the human skins? How do they put them on?_ I gaped.

 

 _Kodiak!_ Macy barked her firm, no nonsenses bark that she only used when there was danger. Like a snake on the path, or an intruder near the house.

 

I jerked around to glare at her, my ears pinned, my lip wrinkled in displeasure. _What?_

 

_They've seen us!_

 

I looked to the camp once more. I had been so busy trying to figure out how the wolf-humans had slipped into Kev and Lyn's skin that I hadn't noticed some of the others were now shuffling in our direction.

 

They didn't move quickly, but they ignored any inconvenience in their path. Some bore ugly leg wounds, dragging torn limbs behind them like weights, but they did not seem at all distressed by the pain. Others were riddled with seeping bullet holes that were utterly ignored. Perhaps wearing the human skin afforded these creatures some protection? Macy was right, it was time to go. I turned, arching my neck and throwing up my hind feet instinctively, to discourage any who had drawn too near. They ignored my warning gesture, but it little mattered because the dog and I were off like twin shots from one of my humans' guns. The wolf-humans had no chance of catching us.

 

~~~~~

 

We reached the edge of my known territory by the next day. There was no dramatic drop off a cliff. The woods beyond looked identical to the one in which we stood. The only hint of human civilization were a few ragged signs nailed to trees, speckled with red lettering which neither Macy nor I could read. We knew humans communicated through these pictures in some way, but I supposed if it had been important for me to know, my human would have taught me.

 

I stepped, with much uneasy snorting and tail swishing, and a lowered head. into this new area. I stopped and sniffed the air. Not a single whiff of a wolf-human. We had smelled a few, distantly, in the night, but we had not seen any since the human camp.

 

 _Kodiak?_ Macy asked as she trotted beside me. We had been traveling all day and her short legs had trouble keeping pace with my full stride.

 

 _Hmmm?_ I was busily eying the trees, noticing every ripple of the plant life, peering at every falling leaf. My ears were on a constant pivot and I was glad my human was not there to see how many times I shied from a scuttling squirrel or lazy quail that waited until the last moment to fly. New places are always to be treated with great suspicion.

 

_Do you think the wolf-humans back home took our human's skin?_

 

 _Macy, they ate him. We saw them eat him._ I swung my head around to glare at my friend. Mental images I did not need in my already twitchy mood came flooding into my thoughts. Now every tree or rock was concealing a wolf-human wearing the fleshy remains of my human as a coat. I glanced at my companion with a twinge of sympathy. **Our** human. She had loved him too, and I knew it. Perhaps he belonged to her even more than me, as she lived in the house. It stung to think of it, even though it hardly mattered now.

 

_But what if they didn't eat his skin and now they're wearing it around?!_

 

_Macy-_

 

_What if we don't notice, and we go up to him and he kills us like they killed Buddy?_

 

 _MACY!_ I swished my tail in a stern whipping motion. _We are **done** with this conversation. Our human was eaten by wolves and that's the end of it._

 

 _What do you think the wolf-humans look like when they're not wearing human skins?_ She wove between the trees, jamming her nose into the leaf litter for signs of rabbits.

 

 _I think they must be smaller. So the skins fit them easily,_ I mused. I was only half paying attention, much of my focus still on our surroundings. This land was more varied, with rocky outcroppings and great stretches of land without trees. We had spotted a few small cabins, their little gardens decorated with those unsettling statues of stout, bearded men, and glass butterflies. I avoided those places. We saw no humans, and very little sign that anyone was inside the cabins at all, though Macy griped that she would like to go through the garbage cans.

 

_But what do you think they really look like?_

 

_I don't know, Macy. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that we know what they smell like._

 

 _I suppose_. She fell quiet, the tags on her collar jingling faintly. Crackling fall leaves rustled and snapped with each step. If a wolf-human was interested in hunting us they'd be able to track us easy enough, I thought darkly as we plodded onward.

 

 _Macy... where are we going?_ I asked, skirting wide around a highly suspect fallen tree that could conceal any number of monsters. I hadn't realized how much more confident having our human around had made me until I walked alone. No reassuring weight on him on my back, no calm, steady energy flowing through my reins.

 

 _I..._ My dog companion hesitated, her stump tail drooping. _I suppose we'll know when we get there._

 

 _I feel so reassured,_ I snorted, lowering my head and tossing a pile of leaves with my lip, checking under it for the juicy grass sprouts that have been starved from sunlight just long enough to become tender.

 

 _You're very sarcastic for a horse,_ she shot back, bouncing ahead of me, ears pricked. _We'll find a place, Kodiak. You'll see. Those first humans were not a good fit. We'll find some nice humans who know what they're doing._

 

I nibbled the sweet grass and watched the forest shift and shuffle its way deeper into autumn around us like a horse shedding their summer coat in preparation for the thicker, winter fur. Macy might have had hopes, but I felt certain there was no one that could replace our human. Perhaps dogs' hearts were more fickle. Perhaps she could forget. Horses do not forget once we love someone. I supposed it didn't matter anyway. It wasn't as though we could go back. We'd stepped into the wide world and we were wild animals until further notice.

 

~~~~

 

We trudged on, driven by Macy's impossible dream of a new place, and the inescapable knowledge that to stay still would see us eaten by monsters wearing human skins.

 

We began to find roads. Proper roads, with pavement as hard as my barn's floor, with intermittent yellow lines down the middle for some, unknown reason. Macy claimed it was so the cars knew not to hit each other. _Horses know how to not hit each other without special lines,_ I huffed.

 

I didn't like to walk on the roads. The hard pavement sent an unpleasant jarring into my hooves and we were too exposed. I was used to the long tracks of red gravel that lead back into my human's territory and to the other little cabins. Macy thought I was being paranoid, but we avoided the roads just the same.

 

Roads soon gave way to houses. Proper houses with smallish yards and not enough trees. Some still had cars standing lonesome in the drive, while others seemed to have been hollowed out, gutted and empty with doors standing ajar. Of course, I wasn't about to go near. Macy raided a few trashcans that sat, dejected, by the funny little boxes on poles at the end of each drive. She often came back smelling like rotten food, but reporting that other animals had already been at the cans before her. I wanted to avoid the houses as much as the roads, but Macy just yipped at me. _This is just Town, Kodiak. Haven't you ever seen Town?_

 

 _I have not. If it was that important of a place I'm certain our human would have brought me._ I stood back from a thick patch of houses. They were like baby rabbits, all huddled together for protection. Of course they weren't protected at all because the wolf-humans could raid them all easily, bunched up like that. I could smell the acrid odor of the skin stealers carried on the cool breeze. None close, but I could tell that the nearer we got to those clusters of houses, the more danger we were in. Besides, I didn't like all the strange objects standing sentinel in their yards, even if the grass around them did look tasty. Tall contraptions with swinging seats on chains. Odd metal objects that smelled of charred meat. Squat little cars, painted green only one seat and with no roof. I snorted and shook my mane, glancing at the dog. _Come on, we'll go around. It can't be that far._

 

 _I suppose it's alright,_ Macy raised her nose to give the place one last sniff. _The vet lives in Town after all._

 

Even I knew what a vet was, though mine came to me. I never could figure out why. Apparently Macy somehow knew where the needle-happy psychopath lived. All the more reason to steer well clear.

 

It turns out my instincts were spot on because later we saw a whole pack of shambling wolf-humans stalking the streets. Macy and I once again took to our heels and outran them easily.

 

~~~~~

 

The grass grew thinner and the frost came at night, leeching out all the flavor from the tender stalks, and much of the nutrition. We stopped in a field where I helped myself to some frostbitten corn while Macy hunted up another rabbit, but day after day the pickings only grew slimmer. There was no denying that winter was coming on, and we both knew what that meant. Blizzards and snow drifts and nights without a warm stable or good food in our bellies.

 

 _What do horses do in winter?_ Macy asked as she trotted beside me.

 

 _Same as dogs._ I breathed a misty gust in her direction. My whiskers froze with the moisture. _A human comes and gives us you meals and sometimes puts a blanket on us._ I recalled last winter, seeing Macy cavort in the yard wearing her own little blanket. It had been purple, and Buddy kept grabbing one of the straps.

 

 _I mean what do_ _ **wild**_ _horses do?_ She hopped sideways to avoid a frozen puddle.

 

I had to admit I didn't know. I tried to picture myself as a wild horse, whatever one of those looked like. Probably all fly bitten and scrawny. I tossed my mane to the other side of my neck. I'd been born to the wild, but seemingly that wasn't the sort of thing that stuck with you.

 

 _Maybe wild horses die in the winter,_ Macy mused. _Like mosquitoes._

 

I knew she was sassing me, so I took playful swipe at her with my teeth. She dodged, yipping and wagging her stub tail. _What about wild dogs?_ I asked, pretending to pin my ears back at her.

 

 _There are no wild dogs, silly. We all have humans. That's why we have to find a new one for us soon_. Her jovial tone vanished, like a warm breeze in a winter wind. _I haven't been able to find any good rabbits in two days. The squirrels all go up trees and the last mouse I caught was all skinny... I don't think I'll like winter, Kodiak._

 

 _No_ , I agreed glumly. _No, neither will I._

 

 _Kodiak_ , her body language was subdued, small. Like she'd been kicked. _What if... what if there are no more humans? What if they all got eaten? How many humans were there to begin with?_

 

I walked in silence for a long moment, pondering her concern. I hadn't been to the place called Town. Macy had probably seen more humans in her short lifetime than I had in double her years. Still, her little tail wasn't wagging any more and her ears were drooping. I could already tell she was thinner, and I knew her fur wouldn't keep her warm enough once we reached the heart of winter. We horses are experts at keeping warm, and my coat was coming in full and comforting. I inhaled a big breath of the frigid air, so cold it made my lung tingle. _There are lots of humans, Macy, and most of them are smart, like our human. Not foolish like those others we met. We'll find some._

 

Neither of us pointed out that our human had been eaten too, just the all the others.

 

~~~~~

 

The steadily dropping temperatures eventually gave way to the first fall of snow, and then the second. Still we trudged on. Nights were frigid ordeals when, if Macy couldn't find a hollow log or pile of leaves to burrow into, she'd wrap her little body around one of my legs. I didn't dare lay down with her. Horses cannot stand as quick as dogs, and if a wolf-human came on us while we slumbered, I might find myself becoming a meal.

 

Both of us were growing thinner. It didn't matter now that we avoided towns with their lush, grassy yards; everything was equally coated in snow. I was forced to spend time digging to find the dormant and flavorless grass below the thick layer of white, but it took energy and required that Macy be on watch as I concentrated.

 

My dog companion had it worse than me, however. The rabbits were well hidden and the ones she caught were scrawny or sickly. Most days she only managed a couple of unlucky mice or voles. Macy became silent and sullen in her hunger. I missed the playful, bouncing young dog who had started the journey with me. I wondered, when she died, would something wear her skin too, or would she go peacefully back to the earth as we were all meant to?

 

The wolf-humans did not seem bothered by the cold one bit. They also did not conceal their movements and left great swaths and furrows of stumbling tracks everywhere they went. It seemed they liked company as much as I did, because I seldom saw single lines tracks.

 

 _Kodiak..._ Macy's woof was so small I doubted someone with less keen hearing would have detected it. We stood on a hill, overlooking another town, the icy wind playing with my half-frozen mane. This town was bigger, with many houses as well a strange, wide and flat buildings with huge yards made of lined pavement stretching before them. I was as disinterested as ever, especially when I spotted a cluster of humanoid shapes making their way across one of the paved areas. The wind was going the wrong direction for me to tell if they were wolf-humans, but I could make an educated guess.

 

 _Kodiak, I smell food!_ Macy was leaning into the wind, her black button of a nose twitching as though she could taste the breeze itself.

 

 _I smell garbage,_ I said flatly, shifting to walk away from this town as well.

 

 _Exactly! Garbage!_ Macy affirmed. She turned to me, her small, dark eyes intense. Her stump tail raised fractionally. _Kodiak, I need some food. I can't keep up with your long horse legs if I don't eat. I smell garbage down in that place. I'm going down._

 

 _No Macy!_ I rumbled, fixing her with my sternest glare. Not that I had ever succeeded in making the dog do anything she did not wish to do.

 

_I'm going, Kodiak. I'll be very careful and if I so much as smell a wolf-human I'll run. Alright?_

 

 _No. Not alright._ I shifted my weight from side to side, as though working to loosen some invisible cross-tie that held me. I looked up again at the foreboding buildings, hollow and seemingly abandoned, but hiding who know what danger. _I'll go with you._

 

_Kodiak, you're too big. You'll be spotted._

 

I raised my chest, still well muscled from my years of good treatment. Clearly my friend wasn't buying my courageous act. _So what?_

 

 _So stay here. Dig up some grass. You'll be able to smell if wolf-humans come. They'll be even slower because they have to climb the hill. I'll be back before nightfall._ With that she turned and darted off, barreling towards the town at top Macy speed. I hadn't known she had that much energy left. I could have caught up with her in a few of my longer strides, but something held me back. She was right about me standing out in a place like that. She was smaller, more used to 'Town'. She was better equipped to deal with that world. I'd be more of a danger than a help down there. I would have to trust her.

 

I watched Macy go until she was just a speck, still running towards the back of the nearest buildings. For the first time I was completely alone. The wind that played with my mane seemed even colder, and I shifted uneasily, double checking every shadow, every movement of the nearby, gently hissing stand of evergreens. I couldn't bring myself to hunt for food as she had suggested. Every time I began to let my head sag to earth, some knew motion grabbed my attention and I'd be on high alert again. Twice I caught myself prancing in a tense little circle like a spooky yearling. My human would hardly recognize me now. Where was the steady horse he had spent so much time teaching about harmless shadows and monsters that didn't exist?

 

Dusk came with the abrupt quickness of winter, creeping its grasping fingers across the snow, wrapping the land in a bitter cold that had even me shivering. I didn't have enough food in my systems to keep me adequately warm. I tried to let my thoughts drift me back to my warm stable, my feeder filled with green hay and grain. All I could think of was the leeching cold inching up my legs towards my core.

 

A few of the buildings down in the town twinkled to life in the darkness. This got my head up again, ears pricked forward. Did the wolves use lights? Did they drive in cars and talk to friends and ride horses? Or were those regular humans down there, lighting the lights; and by the smell of it, starting fires? I snorted, blowing the scent of woodsmoke from my nostrils. Where was Macy? It was well past dark now, the stars a thousand unblinking eyes above me. If only they could watch over me and guard me from harm rather than just staring in silent judgment.

 

Slowly, unwillingly, I dragged my stone-stiff legs into motion. _Walk, damn you. Find Macy,_ I commanded myself.

 

I strode down the hill, the tightness easing from my frozen muscles with each step. As I drew nearer to the edge of the town the scent of woodsmoke was joined by the faint but distinct odor of wolf-humans. It smelled diluted, as though it had been a while since they had shambled through. Still, I came up short, head raised, every sense alight. All it would have taken was a single breath, a marginally stronger whiff of wolf-human, to send me bolting for my hilltop. Instead, after several shivering moments of peering between two buildings, what I smelled was... dog!

 

My feet acted of their own accord. I surged between the buildings and came out on a street, flanked by more structures on either side. None of these houses were lit, but I could smell humans now. As faint as the scent of wolf-human, but definitely present. The odor of dog was much nearer and much more fresh. I hurried onward.

 

Finally I spotted him. A lanky body half concealed inside a toppled garbage can. A lean pair of hind legs, white and dotted with black spots, pushed the dog further into the can as though he thought he could escape to some other world if he went deep enough. I clopped a hoof more loudly against the snowy road.

 

The dog's head jerked back and I heard it thud against the inside of the can before he withdrew hurriedly. The front of him was equally spotted, and one of his floppy ears was black while the other was white. His muzzle was stained reddish brown with unknown garbage materials I didn't want to consider. He tilted his mismatched head, tail snapping up. _The fuck are you?_

 

 _Excuse me?_ I flared my nostrils.

 

_What are you, some kind of giant dog?_

 

He didn't seem afraid, which was one reaction new dogs had to me, so I took another step towards him. _No. I am a horse. Haven't you ever seen a horse?_

 

 _Hmmph,_ the spotted dog snorted. _Maybe. Far off. Thought they were cows._

 

 _I assure you I am not a cow._ I swished my tail in disgust. _My name is Kodiak and I am looking for a friend of mine who came into your town before dusk. A cattle dog named Macy. Have you seen her?_

 

 _What do you think?_ Spots asked, tilting his head the other way. There was a smear of something yellow and pungent under his chin. _That all dogs just know each other or something?_

 

_No... I just thought-_

 

_Look, horse-thing, this city is big. I don't run the damn thing. I just keep to my little corner and keep my head down. If your buddy was here I would have chased her off. Any of us dogs around here would._

 

 _Alright..._ I tried not to let my rising panic reach my body language. I needed to concentrate on speaking fluent dog. _If the other dogs would have chased her off and she didn't come back to me, where would she go?_

 

The dog shifted like he was about to dismiss me outright and dive back into his can, when a thoughtful expression passed over his face. _You know... I bet she followed her nose up to Windy Ridge._

 

 _What's Windy Ridge?_ I glanced around. The hill I had been standing on before might have been windy, but it was hardly a ridge.

 

 _Big place. Smells like food and animals. Head out of town the way you came and go that way._ Spots motioned with his nose. I followed the gesture, but didn't see anything but buildings blocking my view.

 

 _What's Windy Ridge?_ I asked again, more firmly this time.

 

 _It's a place animals go sometimes. Sometimes the humans from there come to town and take dogs back with them... That's where I saw those other horses before. I'm not going there though. Dogs who go in don't come back. It creeps me out, but you're welcome to it._ He shuddered, then plunged unceremoniously back into the garbage can. It was clear he was finished with me. I grumbled, lowering my head and twitching my ears in a rude gesture, tempted to nudge the can and send my new friend rolling. Instead I turned and marched back out of town, then angled myself in the direction the dog had indicated and started trudging.

 

I walked most of the night and found neither a ridge, nor anyplace that seemed particularly windy. I left the town behind and what I discovered instead, perhaps an hour or two of walking later, was an odd collection of structures nestled back from a road. A long driveway lead to a tall, white house and a smattering of wide, low and long buildings surrounded by, of all things, horse fence.

 

The smell of horse and dog was everywhere. Cat also mingled into the mix, though I had only smelled cat a few times before to identify it. There was also just the barest hint of wolf-human. A shudder rattled me to my bones. Had Macy gone into this place? What was it and why did that other dog warn that those who went in didn't come out?

 

It seemed like an ordinary house. The outbuildings were all clean white mental and locked up tightly with huge, heavy, sliding doors. They had small windows with bars over them at regular intervals. The house too looked barricaded, with boards nailed over every opening I could see

 

I didn't draw nearer to check the place out more. Even the scent of other horses, so clear and strong, couldn't draw me in. I didn't dare call out, in case it garnered me some unwanted attention from whoever or whatever lived in this place. Was this Windy Ridge? It seemed like the only logical place for Macy to have gone. There was nothing around but crop fields and a smallish woods on the other side of the property.

 

I stood, near a fence at the edge of the this place, watching all night, hoping against hope that Macy would come striding out to meet me with a 'woof' and a happy wag of her tail-stump. She did not.

 

~~~~~

 

I must have dozed because I was wakened by the sound of a door opening. My head snapped up, every muscle tensed to run. Unfortunately all those muscles were stiff and sore from a night asleep in the snow. It was becoming a common feeling, to go with my perpetually empty belly. The sun was well on its way over the trees across the pastures from me and I blinked in the cruel, unfiltered light of winter.

 

Once I could see again I swung my head and spotted the genesis of the door sound. Curiosity held me in place as well as my weary body. A human and strolled out of the house and onto a porch, just as natural as you please. Just as my human might have done. Of course this human was cradling a rifle in the crook of his arm, but otherwise everything seemed somehow completely ordinary.

 

The man stamped his feet in the cold and looked around, scanning his surroundings with a practiced intensity I had to admire. He let his eyes settle on every snowbank, every fencepost, as thorough as any horse. Naturally, his gaze eventually landed on me and he jerked, obviously startled. He backtracked, keeping his eyes locked with mine, shouting towards the door. “Mona! Hey Mona, get out here! I think Daisy got loose!”

 

There was some muffled banging and unintelligible human speaking from inside the house, and seconds later another person appeared on the porch, still shrugging into a winter coat. She followed the man's pointing finger towards me. “Aimes, that is not Daisy. Can't you even tell our own horses when you see 'em? That's somebody new! Run your ass to the stable and grab a grain bucket and a halter and rope. Now!”

 

The man sprang into action, jogging for the nearest of the low, long outbuildings. I watched him, my eyes heavy-lidded with weariness. More humans. I hoped they weren't as foolish as the last ones. At least these had a house. I could smell the steady outpouring of woodsmoke from their chimney. They knew how to keep warm too. My hopes rose a fraction. Foggily I knew I had to keep looking for Macy, but the human on the porch was watching me now. It made me edgy, but I still couldn't bring myself to bolt. Who had the energy for bolting any more?

 

The man reached the big building, which I guessed to be a barn, and hauled the door open with a rumble, just wide enough for him to slip inside. The door shut behind him and it was just me and the woman, watching one another in the icy dawn light. She took a few steps towards me, then a few more. Before she stepped off the porch she stopped and looked around, as the man had. I could have told her there were no wolf-humans in the area. Though perhaps my nasal passages were frozen by and I couldn't smell anything properly any more.

 

“Hey fella?” The woman crooned, stepping down into the snow and heading for me with slow, deliberate steps. “Whoa, fella. It's alright. How've you been doing?”

 

 _How have I been doing?_ I might have laughed if I'd had the energy to raise my ice bedecked tail. Instead it sagged, useless and frozen as I watched her stop to lean against a fence post across the pasture from me.

 

Then I heard it. The sound that made my heart stop, then start back up again like someone had kicked me in the ribs. The shake shake shake of grain in a plastic bucket. Hot blood surged through my veins as pivoted on legs previously too stiff with cold to move, seeking out the sound. The man from the stable was making his way back up the drive, carrying a blue bucket and shaking its glorious contents.

 

I might have plowed right through the fence rather than going around, but I managed to keep my head as saliva came to my parched mouth at last. I surged around the edge of the pasture at a fast walk. It was about all I could manage. The man reached his companion and handed a halter and rope to the woman as he continued shaking the bucket.

 

At this point he could have passed her spiked chains a whips and I would have kept going. Let them turn out to be wolf-humans, just give me one bite of sweet grain before I died! I reached them at last and without even acknowledging either human I plunged my head into the bucket. The woman was ready. She had the halter poised and when I went for the food I fitted my nose right into it. She buckled it behind my ears as a buried my lips in glorious, heavenly, transcendent grain. Oh, it had everything! Corn, molasses, oats! My eyes nearly rolled back at the bliss on my tongue. Distantly I felt the woman petting my neck with a gloved hand.

 

“Where do you think he came from? No other stables around here.” The woman said.

 

“Private citizen?” The man shrugged, struggling to hold the bucket steady against my enthusiastic onslaught. “Must have got loose. Could he have come from the same place as that dog who showed up yesterday?”

 

“Might have. Her tags said she was form the north woods. If the two of them were together, they've been walking for a long while,” The woman agreed, still petting me. I was already falling in love with her touch, though the grain might have had something to do with it. She had a firm, steady way about her. There was no fear. Respect yes, but not an ounce of fear. This was a horsewoman. I plunged my head deeper into the bucket, licking up the last fragments of grain. I wanted every speck, every mote of dust. “He's a little skinny. Looks like he's been living rough, but you can tell by his muscles and willingness to come to us; someone loved this horse.” The woman said.

 

Reluctantly I lifted my head from the bucket, aware now of the weight of the halter on my face. A wild instinct overcame me. Who were these people? I didn't know them! I shouldn't have let them catch me!

 

I threw back my head, rising onto my rear legs and jerking back, trying to snap the rope from the woman's grasp.

 

“Now WHOA!” She commanded in the tone of one used to being obeyed. She sidestepped expertly, changing the angle of the rope just so, yanking me back to all fours and taking control.

 

I wish I could say I fought harder, or better, but all it took was a firm hand and I was docile again. I couldn't tell if it was my training or merely the way she handled herself, that made me settle, blowing great, cleansing, breaths into the frigid air. I finally looked this stranger over. The woman was lean, with pleasantly brown skin and dark eyes like twin river stones. Her black hair was mostly tucked away under the hood of her coat. The man was paler, taller, with eyes the color of the winter sky. He seemed more timid, though he stood dutifully by, also not intimidated by my brief show of defiance.

 

Once I was settled the woman leaned down, startling me with her directness. She put her lips up to my nose and blew. I was so startled I snapped my head back, then relaxed as I realized... she spoke a little bit of horse! She was giving me her smell, asking to by my friend. _Remember me_ , she said as she blew into my nose and I blew back. _Remember me,_ I echoed.

 

My human had been the only one of his kind who had ever known to greet me in this way until now. When the woman and I broke apart the man too leaned in for his turn. I memorized his scent as well. What was this place where the people had grain and spoke horse? Had I died? Was my body laying out in the field, picked at by birds, and this was the life that came after? I didn't know, and if I was honest, I didn't care. When the woman turned to lead me and I followed without hesitation.

 

The rope hung loose between us and the woman walked ahead of me with the confidence of one someone who knew exactly how I should behave, and because she knew it, so did I. She didn't tug the rope, or grasp the halter nervously. Her dominant, steady energy swarmed through the rope and I enjoyed the warm easiness of it. To know that for the first time in a long time, I didn't have to look after myself.

 

The man walked beside us with his rifle still drawn, ready in his arms. Though the path we followed towards the first of the big buildings was open and clear, the man kept careful watch. Beyond the pasture on one side of us was open country, with a few gently rolling hills, on the other a narrower field with forest not far beyond. He especially scanned the wood-line, though it was back far enough from the buildings and pastures that if wolf-humans came shambling out of it these people would have time to react appropriately.

 

I was feeling so pleased to be walking with these two that I nearly forgot about Macy. The smell of dog as we approached the barn snapped me back to thoughts of my friend. My ears cupped forward and my nostrils flared as I struggled to pick up her distinct scent. The odor of dog, cat, and a strong smell of horse, was too overwhelming as the man slid the door open, wide enough for all of us, as we stepped into the gloom.

 

The baying began as soon as my hooves touched the concrete floor of this unusual barn. Two dogs, both smaller than Macy with brown and black coats and floppy ears, came charging around a corner, howling their little heads off. I felt the woman's tension through the rope between us. She was ready for me to spook at the dogs. Perhaps I simply didn't have the energy because all I could muster was a disgruntled toss of my head.

 

 _HORSE_! Bayed the little dogs, scampering around, carefully out of my kicking range. _Horse! Horse! New horse!_

 

“Rusty, Trigger, settle!” The man snapped, trying to shoo the excitable pair away with his foot.

 

“I thought the alarm dogs were on patrol with Eric.” the woman cocked an eyebrow at the man.

 

“Must have finished.” He shrugged before shutting the door behind us, then dropping to a knee, scooping up a dog under each arm. “I don't see Lucky. Guess it's his turn to guard the house.”

 

I didn't know what any of this meant, so I continued to follow the woman as she led me on. The lighting inside the barn was poor, provided only by small, barred windows, but I could see well enough. Directly in front of us as we entered the barn there were two cross-tie stalls and one wash-stall. To our right and left spread two long hallways like open arms, lined on both sides with stalls. Stalls! My heart gave a thrill. As if the smell of horses and hay wasn't enough to prove it, the waiting stall proved I was in a good place! I might have danced for joy if I wasn't still worried over Macy. I had also not met many other horses in my life, so an unfamiliar shyness spread through me as the woman led me to the right, deep into the morass of equine scent.

 

Before I knew it was I was settled in a stall of my very own, complete with soft bedding, a feed trough with a bit more grain, and a leaf of hay in a basket feeder. The last time I could remember being so happy was the day every year when my human celebrated his birth and often had lots of special treats for me and the dogs.

 

This barn was warm, the icy wind unable to penetrate the thick walls. To compound the happiness, just when I thought things couldn't get better, the woman stepped into the stall, bringing hoof picks and brushes. She worked on my snow packed coat while I ate, ensuring that, as the ice on my fur melted at last, it wouldn't seep down to my skin and give me a dangerous chill. She trimmed my mane and tail short, though I little noticed or cared, so happy was I do have my nose stuck into glorious food.

 

It took the woman nearly an hour to finishing my grooming. She gathered her supplies and slid the stall door shut behind her. The man was busying himself with other chores while she worked, and looked up when she joined him in the wide hallway between stalls. “He's a good looking horse. Seems pretty steady. He barely looked when Rusty and Trigger started their racket and he didn't shy or crowd me in the stall. I'm thinking I'll call him 'Forest', since he might have wandered in from the North Woods area as that dog we found yesterday.”

 

“Getting attached already? He's half starved. We don't know what he'll be like when he's fit,” the man cautioned, resting his weight against the handle of his pushbroom and casting a skeptical gaze over me.

 

“I'll start testing him tomorrow if he's feeling well enough.”

 

“So soon?”

 

“We need a new gun horse after Gary... and we've got a run planned in a few weeks.”

 

“He can't be ready by then,” the man scoffed.

 

“I'll test him tomorrow,” the woman repeated, with the same firm assuredness she'd used on a me.

 

“Fine, fine, you're the horse lady.” The man showed his hands in playful surrender. “We better get back to the big house before they assume we've been eaten by zoms and break out the big guns.”

 

“Right,” the woman agreed. I hardly noticed them leave as I buried my face in sweet hay. Distantly I heard the big door slide open and closed. After that the only sound was the clicking claws of the little 'alarm dogs' as they trotted around the building, seemingly on their own, private, patrol route. Whenever one came by I raised my head at the sound, so much like Macy. My heart would give an involuntary flip of hope before it was inevitably dashed. The little brown dogs looked up sympathetically, but didn't speak to me.

 

_Hello._

 

I jerked my head around. My stall, like all the others, was made from hard-wood paneling on the bottom half. The top was metal bars, allowing me to see out and across the hall to the speaker. I had been too busy with my food and enjoying the grooming session to notice I had barn-mates. The overall smell of horse was so strong here that my nose hadn't even warned me that across from my new home, each taking up a good half of their stalls, stood two nearly identical draft horses. I took an involuntary step back. They were huge! Their necks were twice as thick as mine and I imagined they could fell a tree with one swing of their massive heads. They had slow, easygoing body language which was reassuring at least.

 

 _Hello...?_ I managed. It was different to speak to other horses. So often I spent my time mentally translating into human or dog, but now we could just talk.

 

 _Welcome_ , one of the drafts said, bobbing his head. _I'm Elvis. This over here is Tank._ He swung his neck in the direction of his fellow giant.

 

 _Nice to meet you_ , said Tank, languidly chewing a bite of hay.

 

 _I'm... I'm Kodiak,_ I said, suddenly shy.

 

 _No you're not. Not any more. Didn't you hear Mona? You're called Forest now. Welcome to the team, Forest._ The one named Elvis said. He seemed more talkative than his partner.

 

 _The team?_ I asked, shifting up to stand closer to the bars again.

 

 _Yeah. We're a team,_ Elvis said. _The humans use us for things called 'runs'. We go out for supplies and bring them back here and to the town. Tank and I pull the big wagon. Daisy, she's... well she's an attack horse._

 

 _Daisy?_ I looked around. I spotted another horse separated from Tank by an empty stall. Her head was down, but I could see the tops of her chestnut colored shoulders and her stubby mane, cut short like mine. I noted that Tank and Elvis too wore the style. _Hello, Daisy,_ I called with a little whiny.

 

 _She won't answer,_ Elvis snorted. _Daisy is... she's not quite right. Never has been. Won't let humans ride her, bites and kicks just about anything that moves. That's useful when we make runs though._

 

 _So... so what am I expected to do as a member of this team?_ I asked, nervously, drawing my attention back from the silent mare. I had never pulled a cart, and fighting didn't sound like a good fit either.

 

 _Didn't you hear Mona?_ Tank's head reappeared and he eyed me with a baleful gaze. _You're going to be our new Gun Horse._

 

_And that is...?_

 

_We used to have this horse called Shorty. Sweet mare. She belong to a human named Gary. Gary was one of the owners here at the stable and he used to brag to the other humans what a good rider he was and how great Shorty was. He said she was 'bomb proof'-- whatever that means._

 

I puffed up my chest a little. I knew what that meant. When my human had said it about me, he wasn't just bragging.

 

_Once we started going out on 'runs' Gary used to ride Shorty the extra guns and ammo. All the humans have guns of course, and there are some in the wagon, but he'd bring the extras. If there was an attach, he and Shorty were supposed to ride around fast and make sure everyone had all the guns they needed._

 

_An attack?_

 

 _You know. By zombies._ Elvis tossed his head.

 

 _Zombies?_ I had never seen that gesture-word before.

 

_You know, those bad smelling creatures that look like humans?_

 

 _Oh!_ _Wolf-humans,_ I bobbed my own head as I understood. _The ones that wear human skins. I've seen lots of those_.

 

 _Have you seen a big pack of them?_ Asked Elvis, twitching an ear quizzically.

 

 _Well... not too big,_ I had to admit.

 

_Sometimes, on the road, we run into a whole pack. The humans have to fight them off. While humans are around the zombies aren't interested in us horses or the dogs. Tank and I, we just stand still until someone gives us direction. Our human, Dave, usually goes up into the wagon and shoots from there. Anyway, on that day we ran into a big pack and everyone was doing their jobs... except Gary. He was having trouble shooting and riding at the same time. He always said he could, but I guess in the heat of battle it was a little different. He was sending Shorty bad signals, and she was already spooked mixed up, so when he really needed to pull back and get her out of the way of some zombies, instead he let them get her._

 

Tank blinked languidly, filling in more of the story with his slow, almost bored gestures. _They dragged Gary off her first to eat him, and she tried to fight her way out of the swarm. The humans shot lots of zombies, and the attack dogs did their best, but they couldn't get Shorty away in time. The zombies tore her up real good. She was too hurt to make it home, so the humans had to shoot her._

 

A thought struck me and I cocked both ears forward. The story had me on edge, even in this seemingly safe place. _Do the... zombies..._ I tried out the new gesture-word. _Do they ever wear horse skins?_

 

 _Nope._ Elvis shook his stubby mane. _Or dogs. They never seem to want anything but humans to wear. They'll eat a dog or a horse if there's nothing else, but that's it._

 

I paused to puzzle over this. Why wouldn't a horse, with powerful limbs and dangerous hooves be a good disguise? It wasn't as though the 'zombies' used other human abilities, like their spoken and picture languages. They shambled around on their inefficient two legs, looking to tear flesh with blunt, human teeth. It seemed like a waste. It let these strange thoughts leave me and turned back to Elvis and Tank. The latter had lowered his head out of sight away, possibly to sleep.

 

Dogs. Elvis had mentioned dogs. I pressed my face to the icy metal of the stall bars. _Do you know if a new dog came in recently? An Australian Shepard? Short with a marbled coat and stubby tail?_

 

Elvis shrugged, then turned and whinnied loudly. Moments later one of the small, brown 'alarm dogs' came skittering into view, tail and back fur raised. _What's up, Elvis? Something wrong? Do I need to sound the alarm?_ The dog asked in a hurried tone, as if he was excited at the prospect of making more noise.

 

 _Is there a new dog up at the big house?_ Elvis asked in his placid tone, ignoring the smaller animals quivering enthusiasm.

 

 _Sure is! She came with a collar and tags, but the humans said she was from far far away, so we've got no way to return her._ His tail, tipped with vibrant white, wagged so fast it was a blur. _They're already talking about making her a pack dog when they've fattened and rested her up a bit_

 

 _Did they say her name?_ I asked eagerly, pressing my head all the harder to the bars as though I could pass through them to see the dog better. _Was it Macy_?

 

 _Something like that._ The alarm dog tilted his head at me, large ears flopping. _Sure_.

 

Relief sank me back away from the bars and into the warmth and comfort of my new stall. Macy had been right. We'd found somewhere new at last. I could only hope these humans would turn out to be as good and kind as our last one. I heard the clicking of claws on cement as the alarm dog skittered away, and the low rumble of thanks from Elvis. I looked around at the heaps of soft bedding and sturdy walls. Did I dare sleep lying down in this new, unfamiliar place with no Macy to keep watch? My own weariness answered and I sank to the ground, resting my chin against the floor, every muscle singing with the relief of true relaxation. I fell asleep at once.

 

~~~~~

 

_Macy!_

 

_Kodiak!_

 

 _No,_ I corrected my frolicking friend as she charged around my legs, yipping with joy. _I'm called Forest now._

 

I was standing in the open area near the big door to the barn as the woman, Mona, brushed me down. Nearby, another woman was preparing metal tools. I recognized them as farrier's tools and knew my overgrown and ice damaged hooves would finally get the attention they needed. I leaned into my brushing with a grunt of happiness.

 

“I guess our hunch was right about this horse and dog,” Mona mused, smiling as she paid special attention to my favorite itchy spot on my chest. My lip twitched with pleasure and my ears practically flopped to either side like a dog's as she scratched.

 

“It's pretty damn adorable,” the other human agreed, grinning at Macy, who was still cavorting to and fro. One of the alarm dogs sat to the side, chewing a rawhide and looking mildly disgusted by Macy's display of enthusiasm.

 

 _Can you believe this place?_! Macy crowed, wagging her stump tail so hard I was worried it was going to fall off and she'd be left with nothing at all. _They gave me food, and a soft bed, and the other dogs are all so nice!_

 

 _Other dogs?_ I cocked an ear. _Besides the alarm dogs you mean?_

 

_Oh yeah! The big house has a bunch of the dogs and a kind man who takes care of us! We all have jobs. Like the alarm dogs who make noise if any zombies-- that's what everyone calls the wolf-humans-- come near. The attack dogs who are supposed to bite the zombies and hold them in place so a human can shoot it, and the pack dogs carry things. The nice man said I'm going to be a pack dog!_

 

_Apparently I'm going to be a gun horse. Whatever that is._

 

~~~~

 

Later that day I still wasn't certain what a gun horse was, but with freshly trimmed feet and a freshly brushed coat, I was ready for anything. Mona led me across a narrow gap between the barns to another, this one fat and square, versus the long one that the horses lived in. The inside it was all open space, with storage at the far end, and thick, red sand covering the floor. I had only been in outdoor arenas before and I wasn't certain I liked the feeling of being so enclosed, but I imagined it was safer in the end. It smelled a bit of old urine and mildew, and it was much colder in there than the barn, but I didn't much mind.

 

Mona started me out with some lunging. I circled obediently, taking her every cue. She asked for some of the gaits differently than my human did, but her body language was so clear it was easy for me to gather what she wanted. Once I had worked out my muscles, the 'testing' began.

 

A few other humans showed up, flanked by dogs. They stood well out of our way as Mona led me around an obstacle course she'd set up. I was asked to walk over tarps, or go under some that had been suspended like the trailing limbs of a willow tree. She had little flags on the end of sticks and flicked them all around me. I stood placidly and walked wherever I was bidden. This was easy stuff. My human had used these things to train me in the beginning, before we began riding out into the woods.

 

Mona asked me to step over obstacles and investigate a twisted hunk of metal that smelled of motor oil and mouse nests. She tossed a couple plastic bags around. Put one over her hand and petted me. I ignored the strange crinkling and erratic movements of the bags as easily as I might a crunching leaf or darting chipmunk. She walked me over some wooden planks that shifted under me. I didn't like those much, but I did as I was told. Finally she began with the noises. Not too loud at first. Unexpected clapping. A shout from one of the humans by the door. One of the dogs was asked to bark. I twitched slightly at each surprise, but barely even looked. I let my head fall low and kept my eyes lidded so Mona could see my calm. _Look, human, you're dealing with a pro here._

 

She tried me under all kinds of tack, from regular saddles to some very strange, metal pieces that were strapped to my legs, or draped over my chest and flank, and even one that rested on my face. They were heavy and I hoped I wouldn't have to wear them often. I was used to the simple saddle and bridle my human used. They allowed me to move easily when dealing with obstacles on the trails. If we were just riding at home my human sometimes didn't even bother with a saddle at all.

 

Mona looked to the other humans with an 'I told you so' expression. “I think he's ready.”

 

One of them, the man from yesterday, winced. “Are you sure?”

 

“He's handled everything I've thrown at him. He's ready.”

 

I wasn't certain what exactly I was ready for, but I moved docilely behind Mona as she led me out of the arena. Outside the air was so cold it stung my lips and the tips of my ears. The humans complained and stamped their feet, rubbing mittened hands up and down their arms. Most of the dogs didn't mind it, leaping and cavorting in the pristine snowbanks that collected against the barns. Mona ignored the cold and led me on towards a small shed, away from the other out buildings. A few moments later I smelled it.

 

Wolf-human.

 

Strong and sour and exactly as I remembered it from the day when my human had died. Images of those foul creatures flashed in my head and I surged backwards, snapping the rope tight between us. Inside the shed I heard the rattling sound of something clumsily moving about. I flared my nostrils, trying to be free of the horrible stink, jerking my head back and up so Mona had to work hard to keep control of me.

 

“Whoa, whoa now Forest!” Mona walked back to me, hand out to sooth me. She rubbed my neck, crooning gentle words that did very little to quell the nervous trembling in my limbs. Why did she want me to go near that shed? Why would _she_ want to go near it? Clearly it was a den. Everyone knew to stay away from predator dens, even my human.

 

 _No no no,_ I said, firmly, ears flat back against my head. I didn't usually refuse human commands, but this was madness.

 

“You see, he won't do it. Horse is smarter than all of us,” said another man. He was portly, with a wild beard and eyebrows like two hedges. He was carrying a gun... in fact, they were all carrying guns. They all looked like they knew what they were doing with them as well. This might have made me feel better, if we weren't all standing so calmly in front of a 'zombie' den.

 

Two of the dogs, growled low, their hackles rising. Were these the attack dogs Macy had told me about? She was staying well back behind the humans, looking nervously towards the shed, her dark eyes wide with an echo of my fear.

 

“No, come on,” Mona coaxed them. “All the horses felt this way. He just needs work.”

 

“We've got a run in two weeks. I don't know if even you can train a horse that fast,” scoffed the woman who had trimmed my hooves.

 

“He's practically there,” Mona argued, stroking my neck. I was fine to let her pet and encourage me, so long as we didn't take one step nearer to that shed. “He's bombproof already. You saw! He's a great horse, a really wonderful find. I can have him ready.”

 

“You prep him, you ride him,” a tall, lean man announced, reaching absently to pet one of the dogs. It didn't even look up at the human, narrowed eyes focused on the shed.

 

“Fine.” Mona's grip on my lead tightened and I felt her resolve traveling up the rope. She believed in me every bit as much as my human had and she'd only known me for a day. Still, no amount of patting my neck and encouraging words could get me near that shed and after a while Mona gave up. She led me back to the barn and my warm stall. “That's alright, Forest, We got a lot done today. We'll work again tomorrow.”

 

The other humans went about their own business and I ate my grain and hay, wondering why she had needed to do all that testing. What on earth did she have in store for me?

 

 _What exactly is this place?_ I asked Elvis when we horses had finished our meals. The stable was dark, with only wan, winter moonlight pouring through our little windows, but we could see well enough to talk.

 

 _WindyRidge?_ Elvis twitched an ear, then saw my quizzical look. _No, it isn't especially windy, and no, there isn't a ridge._ _I don't understand the name either._ We both had a chuckle over this before the big horse went on. _This used to be a boarding stable. Humans who couldn't keep horses where they lived brought them here. Most of the humans visited often, and sometimes took their horses away for trail rides and shows. Old Tank and I used to do these weight pulling competitions at fairs._ Tank's head appeared and he blinked lazily at me as though to confirm his cohort's story before it dropped low again.

 

_Back then the stable was full and everything seemed perfect and routine. Mona was the barn manager and was working to become a trainer living on premises. There was a lady called Janna who owned the place and kept several of her own horses here too. Nice folks, all of them. Things started to go down hill without brakes when Janna got sick and had to leave. We don't know where. She sold all her horses and people started taking their own horses elsewhere, even though the stable was going to stay open until Janna got someone to buy it. A couple of the owners stayed. Like Tank's and mine. There was Gary, too. Daisy’s owner never came for her and stopped paying her board, but by that point I guess the humans figured they couldn't sell her so they just kept her on._

 

Daisy, raised her head and stared out at us with an unsettling intensity. If she and I were in a pasture together I sensed that she would chase me into a corner and never let me come out. I shuddered and tried not to look into her wild, white rimmed eyes. She bared her teeth at me.

 

 _Then the 'Dead Day' came_. Elvis' gestures were grave and his warm gaze went cold. _That's when the zombies appeared. A few horses were still on pasture. At first they were ignored by the hoard of shamblers, but after a while... when the zombies couldn't find humans to kill, they went after the horses. A couple jumped the fence. We don't know what happened to them. Daisy... she kicked the crap out of anyone who came near. Never seen a horse fight like that. Tank and I got lucky. We were inside because we'd just been worked. Our human locked himself in the stall with me and we waited out the zombie attack. Other humans came. Mona and some of the stable hands. They had survived by hiding in the big house. Apparently ol' Janna had a gun collection. Ever since then the humans have been fortifying and making plans. Now that there are so few horses we have plenty of feed for the winter, too. The humans food would run out eventually though, so they started using us to help go for supplies. That's what we do now._

 

 _Huh_ , I mused. I suppose that was what Mona was testing me for. These supply runs. Would they be like the hunting trips I used to take, or something else entirely? Would I be expected to fight like Daisy did? I turned back to Elvis, _Did you know they keep a zombie in a shed here?_

 

 _Oh yeah_. Elvis bobbed his head. _They call him Frank. He wandered into the shed during the first attack and got stuck. The humans chopped off his arms and put a bag over his head. Now they just use him to test us horses and the dogs. To make sure we can handle zombies._

 

 _Handle zombies?_ I swallowed, the remains of my dinner grain becoming a soggy lump in my throat.

 

 _You know what I mean. Stay where you're, put, follow commands, don't spook off into the trees. That sort of thing._ Elvis made it sound easy. Boring even. Tank didn't even lift his head. I pondered the two heavy horses. Perhaps their skin was so thick a zombie couldn't bite through. I, on the other hand, felt decidedly vulnerable. No matter how grateful I was to these humans, I wasn't certain I could ever 'handle' a zombie.

 

~~~~

 

Four days later I proved myself wrong. Mona worked with me doggedly. She wouldn't quit. Sometimes she just practiced target shooting from my back, delighted that I didn't even flinch at the sound of her gun. She practiced steering me with reins, and her knees, and continued to be overjoyed that I knew it all.

 

Other times we visited Frank.

 

Mona worked me again and again, lunging me in the snow beside the shed, leading me past it, slowly inching me closer. Before I knew it had happened I was standing right beside the shabby building as Frank scrambled and thudded around inside. I heard the clatter of chains now, and guessed that old Frank must have been tied up too.

 

My confidence grew. I became tolerant of the smell, disgusting and fear inducing as it was. Mona even began to ride me up to the shed, so close she could put out her foot and kick the metal sides, sending Frank into a tizzy within.

 

Macy trained too, with the tall, lanky man. She wore her new backpack everywhere, learning to answer to a whistle no matter what obstacles stood in her way. She and the dogs worked at one end of the arena as Mona and I used the other.

 

Finally the day came when Mona opened the shed. I flinched back as a fresh wave of that death-smell washed over us both. There was Frank, armless and bag wearing, just as Elvis had said. Still, I was not too keen on the unnatural way he moved, and the gurgling, groaning sounds he made. He dipped and bowed and scrambled, trying to reach us, fighting against a chain around his neck and another around his middle, that held him fast to one of the shed's support beams.

 

I snorted and shied, picking up my front feet with every intent of pivoting away from the foul creature and trotting at least a few yards back before I would turn to see him again. Instead, Mona held me firm. She'd been ready for my reaction and positioned herself beside me for the best leverage.

 

I could hear Frank clacking his teeth from inside his bag. I'd never seen any predator so mindless, so obsessed. It unsettled me to my core and it took all my new-found trust in Mona to keep me standing my ground. She stroked my neck and spoke to me, though her words seemed to come from a great distance at first. “Good boy. That's a good boy, Forest. See, he wants to eat me, but you wouldn't let him. You'd get me out of his way, wouldn't you? You just have to remember to always listen to me too.”

 

I did listen to her. To the gentle sound of her voice and to her steady energy pulling me from my panic state. She wasn't afraid of this monster who wanted nothing else in the world except to eat her and wear her skin. If she could stand so strong in front of that kind of danger, so could I. I squared my stance and raised my head, glaring at Frank. I even stamped a rear hoof for good measure, just to remind this creature that I had weapons too. It ignored me, but at least I felt a bit stronger for my gesture.

 

The next day Mona rode me past Frank's shed with his door open, asking me to do complicated foot maneuvers and she opened the door so Frank could clank his chains and flop his useless body around while we worked. I still loathed the smell. It seeped into every part of me and lingered long after I was tucked away in my stall. It ruined the first few bites of my sweet hay and delectable grain with its lingering, but I grew steadier, more reliable. I could be the horse Mona wanted, I told myself every day.

 

Days and training went on. Macy came out to visit with whoever was doing our morning and night feeds and she always had stories from the big house. There were many dogs, and sometimes they got into scuffles or drove the humans mad, but generally everyone was becoming a family.

 

~~~~

 

The day for 'the run' came. We prepared early in the morning, the sun's light only a promise on the horizon and the bitter cold chilling even us horses with our winter coats and full bellies. The humans were dressed up in multiple, thick layers, yet they stamped and patted themselves to keep warm. More humans joined us. Some I hadn't seen before. They seemed less sure about us horses than I was used to. I supposed they mostly stayed inside and guarded the big house.

 

Tank, Elvis and I were led out into a large, gravel yard beside our barn. It felt very exposed, with nothing but the empty crop fields to our left and the ominous treeline on our right, but the humans worked quickly and fearlessly.

 

“You're sure Forest is ready?” Aimes, the man from my first day, asked, stroking my neck with a gloved hand.

 

Mona, who was saddling me, looked up from where she was bending to secure my cinch. “He's ready.”

 

“You have to be one-hundred percent sure. We can't lose another horse and rider like what happened with Gary.”

 

Mona sighed. “These are horses, Aimes. You know as well as I do that nothing is one-hundred percent with horses. Ever. But trust me, Forest can handle it.” She jerked my cinch tight, nodded with satisfaction and began working to dress me in the metal pieces I had tried before. The last few days we had been working with those. I still didn't like the weight, or the way they restricted my movements, clanking and groaning with each step, but I tolerated them. What I was wearing was nothing compared to Tank and Elvis. The two heavy horses were being decked out on metal plates and links of chain until they looked like gigantic turtles.

 

Macy trotted up beside me, following my gaze to the big animals who stood placidly as harness and metal were placed on them in turns. My dog friend was wearing her pack, empty at the moment, but I suspected it would be filled when we reached our destination. “One of the humans makes all these metal bits.” She scratched her ear, unconcerned. “He hammers away at them and sometimes he sits and weaves the little chains together for hours and hours.”

 

“Is he here?”

 

“He's that one.” Macy pointed with her nose.

 

The man she indicated was the heavyset man with the wild beard. He was working on Elvis and Tank, and he was talking to them as casually as one might an old friend. I supposed he must be the owner Elvis had told me about. I recalled how my own human had used to speak to me as he worked and a warm happiness for my large friends washed over me. They were loved.

 

Once Tank and Elvis were armored they were led away, already attached together as a working team by thick straps of leather. While they were gone I was loaded down with several special packs filled with guns and metallic smelling ammunition. All of the humans were armed. Though I scented no zombies in the area, I could sense everyone's tense alertness. At least two kept watch at all times, while the others worked. It reminded me of a herd of horses, though that memory was long faded. Someone always on watch so the herd could never be caught by surprise.

 

When Tank and Elvis returned they were hauling a massive wagon behind them. I balked at it, shifting from foot to foot. It clanked and clattered as it rolled along, and I was glad I wasn't going to be asked to pull it. The wood of the main wagon frame was almost completely obscured by more metal plates. They rose up to make the sides of the wagon so tall that even a human on my back couldn't see over them. There were slits in the sides for humans to see and poke guns out of. There was also a seat up front for the driver, and the bearded man perched there, hands skillfully guiding his two horses with as light a touch as someone might use on me. I took a moment to admire Tank and Elvis. They were good, valuable horses. I hadn't realized how much I missed feeling like a good and valuable horse myself until that moment.

 

Finally, when Tank, Elvis, and their wagon were aimed down the long driveway that ran past the big house to the road, and most of the humans had clamored on board with the short legged alarm dogs in tow, the man called Aimes retreated to the barn. “Ready?” he called as he slid the main door wide enough for a horse and disappeared into the dimness.

 

“Go for it!” answered Mona from her seat on my back. She was long legged and tall, but a light rider and I hardly noticed her weight added to the metal pieces and the guns I carried.

 

There was a moment of quiet followed by a clattering from inside the barn like thunder and drums. Daisy the mare shot out the door as though a thousand wolves were on her heels. She tossed her head, snorted and bucked several times for good measure, then darted on past us without even pausing. It was like we didn't exist. I glanced back to the barn, half certain that she had run Aimes down on her way, but he came walking out as calm as you please, hauling the big door shut behind him. Then he too climbed into the wagon and it was sealed up tight.

 

“Ready?” Mona called to Elvis and Tank's human.

 

“Move it out!” He bellowed, gesturing wide with his arm, though the only people outside the wagon were myself and Mona, plus several dogs and Daisy. I looked up to see that the wild eyed mare had finally stopped running, circled back, and was standing a little way off. She watched us with head defiantly high and ears pricked forward in a challenge. I put my own head down and went where I was bidden. I didn't like the idea of being free to wander like she was. Certainly it meant she had more control, but also no protection. The weight of a human on my back was comforting, the feel of the bridle on my face, the gentle bit in my mouth, it all served to make me steadier. More at home.

 

We walked for a good portion of the day down the snowy road. There were no cars, no sign of humans at all. The dogs trotted here and there, sniffing and exploring, but always returning to walk with the wagon. Macy matched pace with me. She'd grown used to my stride in our travels and we chatted as we walked. Daisy kept up behind us, as though she could not bring herself to leave us entirely. Perhaps even her damaged mind saw the sense of staying with a herd.

 

The road was wide and easy to navigate. It only narrowed again as we drew near a town sometime near mid-morning. I had thought this must be our destination, but it turned out not to be. We walked on, giving the ragged, empty buildings a respectful berth. One of the dogs, a sturdy pack dog with a wide head and flattish muzzle, hove closer to me. He must have seen me eying the town curiously, my neck stretched and ears forward. _We've already taken everything from that place,_ he explained. _It's picked clean as an old bone_.

 

We walked on. I tried to get a whiff on the thin breeze to see if there were wolf-humans down in the town, but I smelled nothing. Perhaps it was too far away.

 

On we went until the dusky afternoon began to threaten. The humans did not stop and offered no breaks, though weary or pawsore dogs were allowed up into the wagon from time to time. The road must have been very cold on their feet, I reasoned. My hooves protected me well enough and Mona lead me expertly around patches of ice.

 

By the time we came upon the second town, this one larger than the first, the sun was well and truly staking its claim to the western side of the sky, but the humans little cared as they steered us onto a crossroad. I could feel tension thrumming in the air. All the dogs were unceremoniously banished from the wagon, the alarm dogs on high alert, white tails raised, keen noses twitching. Two humans wielding rifles stepped down and walked on either side, as watchful as any horse.

 

Our hoof-beats and the steady rumble of the wagon seemed too loud down in the town. Every little clatter or squeak echoed off the buildings until it sounded as though we were a stampede of horses rather than just four. My whole body tingled with raw nerves, but Mona held me firm. Her hand on the reins was an anchor that kept me focused on my task. I was the gun horse, I was expected to obey and be calm. Obey and be calm, Kodiak...

 

The roads here were cluttered, unlike the clean highway we had followed in. Cars sat at odd angles like empty beetle shells. Most of the houses had broken windows and there was no sign of any recent human occupation. No smoke from any of the homes that had chimneys, no faint scent of human musk. I glanced at Macy. As keen as my nose was, I knew hers was better. She caught my eye and lifted her head to give the frigid breeze a sniff. _Old blood. Lots of it. Gasoline. Rot. Feces. Faint hints of zombie smell, nothing recent._

 

I took her at her word and focused on the path ahead again, watching as the humans carefully maneuvered their wagon around two cars sitting close together, almost looking as if they were having a conversation. Tank and Elvis were impressively skilled, correctly interpreting every twitch of the reins from their human on his perch to bring the massive wagon around any obstacle.

 

It did not take us long to reach the heart of the town. There the humans went to work. We began going from building to building, the humans going inside each one. One of the larger dogs pointed them out, idly as we went. _Gas station. Restaurant. Antique shop. Liquor store. Drug store_. I didn't know what most of that meant, but our humans emptied each location of whatever seemed even remotely useful. Food was given priority, but they'd haul just about anything from the dark bowels of these buildings. Tools, small machines, packs of paper products, it all seemed to be fair game. I watched them work with interest. Mona, on my back, her rifle out. I could see the barrel swing into my peripheral vision as she kept a keen lookout.

 

“Do we try the Walmart?” asked one of the men, stopping in front of us to load several tightly folded blankets into Macy's packs. He pointed up the street to a large, white building.

 

“We try everywhere,” affirmed Mona. Aimes, loading the pack of the wide headed dog I'd met before, looked up, his expression going hard. He didn't argue, but he didn't look pleased. “We'll send in the dogs first.” Mona reassured him.

 

On we went. I peered into each abandoned structure as best I could. What had this place been like when humans lived here? In my mind's eye I saw them, strolling together in groups, like dogs would, or driving in their smelly cars. It occurred to me that I had no idea how humans naturally behaved in this type of setting. I had a feeling driving an armored wagon from place to place and thoroughly gutting each building they came to was not natural.

 

The place called 'Walmart' turned out to be a huge building. Bigger than I'd ever seen. There were several abandoned cars in the wide lot sprawling before it, and a few massive trucks with long, white trailers sat as though they were waiting their turn to approach. We headed to those first, investigating each to ensure there wasn't anything of value inside. One was filled with long spoiled lettuce and broccoli that even I wouldn't try, though some of the dogs still looked keen. Another was empty and I didn't like the way it seemed too hollow, like a deep deep hole in the ground. I ushered Macy away from it with my legs.

 

Once the trucks were explored it was time to go to the main building. Two humans, one of them the lanky 'dog man' I'd seen working with Macy and the others while I practiced in the arena, approached the broken glass doors in front, the alarm dogs in tow. Each human took a spot on either side of the doors. “Clear it!” The lean man commanded the dogs. At his words, all three alarm dogs surged fearlessly into the building and vanished in seconds.

 

We waited, silence reigning. I wished the humans would talk to fill in the eery stillness. The tension was so thick I wondered if I could move at all, and considered taking a step, just to be sure. The sound of my hoof might spook everyone here, so I settled for shifting my weight to my other hip. The humans all seemed to be listening with every fiber of their small beings. If one of those alarm dogs gave so much as a yap everyone would be in high alert, guns cocked and ready to fire. They stared at the building as though it might yield them unimaginable riches and certain death in equal measure.

 

I turned my head fractionally. Not far off in the lot, Daisy was still with us. She stood in her same head-up, ears forward defiant stance, daring any of the humans to come catch her, though none did. They didn't even look at her.

 

 _I wonder how long this will take._ Macy plopped down on her haunches beside me. _This pack is getting heavy already, and I think they plan to make it fuller._

 

 _They'll go easy on you I bet,_ I reassured her. _They know you still need to gain back some weight._

 

 _The food they give us is pretty good,_ Macy said, her stump tail giving a little wag. _There's usually meat and sometimes other things. Have you ever had oatmeal with molasses? It's amaz-_ She stopped, raising her head, nose twitching.

 

 _What is it?_ I asked, swiveling my ears all around, alertness coming back to my stiff body.

 

_I smell them._

 

_What?_

 

 _I smell zombies. Live ones! What do I do?!_ Macy's hair was rising and she let out her high pitched whine that was almost a whistle.

 

 _I don't hear the alarm dogs,_ I said, shifting my feet. Mona's grip tightened in warning on my reins I couldn't smell the zombies yet, but I believed my friend. I would have believed her if she told me she smelled cows about to rain from the sky. _The zombies must not be inside like the humans are expecting! Macy, do what the alarm dogs do! Bark. Howl. Make noise!_ Some of the other dogs must have picked up on the scent too because they too stood up, looking around nervously. I turned to them. _Make noise! Alert the humans!_

 

“Woof!” Barked the largest dog in her impressive baritone. “Bark bark!” Echoed several of the smaller dogs. Some began running around, while others, like Macy, stood stiff and still, barking up a storm.

 

Mona adjusted her seat on my back and the other humans jerked to action, rushing to the wagon and climbing inside, peering out through the little gun slits, rifle barrels sticking out like thorns from a tree. “Eric!” Mona called to the people by the Walmart doors. “The dogs!”

 

“I hear them!” Eric shouted. While his partner came jogging back to the group he remained, whistling sharply into the depths of the Walmart.

 

“Eric, get back!” Mona called, wheeling me in a tight circle as he scanned for attackers.

 

“Not without Rusty, Trigger and Lucky.”

 

“Dammit,” Mona cursed under her breath and I felt her core tighten, even with the saddle between us, her hands leaving my reins as she braced her rifle and I knew her further instructions would be given using her legs.

 

The dogs kept up their din and now I could smell it too. The acrid, long-dead odor of wolf-human. At first I almost didn't take it seriously. 'It's just Frank' my mind said, stupidly calm.

 

It was not just Frank.

 

It was a whole lot of Franks, all shuffling out from behind the Walmart. They all still had both arms and not a single one wore a bag over its head.

 

“HOARD! Fucking....IT'S A HOARD!” Shouted Mona. “Eric, get back NOW!”

 

The man by the doors didn't move. Instead he whistled again into the dimness.

 

Mona swung me around with a squeeze of her knee. She aimed at the nearest oncoming zombie that was shuffling faster than the rest. BLAM! Her bullet flew true and the zombie toppled to earth, a steaming hole between its eyes. Its companions trampled it under foot as though it were not there.

 

“Dave, get the wagon out!” Mona ordered, already sighting on her next target.

 

“Git-up!” The bearded man called to Tank and Elvis, snapping their reins. The two heavy horses shifted into motion, their metal plates clanking as they began to swing the wagon around. The humans inside fired into the thick of the zombie pack. Several more of the creatures dropped to earth, but there seemed to be an unending supply pouring out from behind the building.

 

“Fucking shit!” snarled Mona, firing again. I stood firm as a rock so her aim was steady. I even tried to breath shallowly. “There must have been a whole nest back there. ERIC, the dogs are fine. Get going!”

 

The wagon began to roll towards the road, but Eric still stood beside the doors, waiting for his dogs. He too was firing his gun, but even I knew he didn't have unlimited ammo. I, however, was laden with the stuff. Mona shifted in the saddle. Her opportunity to reach Eric was closing fast. Her heels pressed into my flanks and I surged forward, dropping into a dead canter without so much as trotting a single pace. We reached Eric in seconds, but the zombies were not far off themselves. Mona turned me side-on to the man and thrust out a hand. “Get on the horse, idiot!”

 

Eric didn't look up from shooting. “Not without my dogs. Go. I'll be fine.”

 

“The wagon is leaving, get on the damn horse!”

 

More shots from the wagon made my ears swivel in that direction. I heard dogs snarling now. Some of the zombie hoard had picked up speed and headed for the retreating wagon as others surged towards us. I trembled, but held my ground. Mona needed me to be still. I had to trust her judgment, even as every atom of me screamed to flee. I imagined she was my human and felt a little stronger. My human would never let harm come to me.

 

The scuttling sound from inside the building was almost drowned out by the snarling of dogs and moaning of the zombies, but I heard it. All three alarm dogs surged out into the dying daylight, throwing back their heads and baying fit to bust. They surged away from the door at top speed, rushing right past their human and making for the wagon like rabbits.

 

“NOW will you get on the fucking horse?” Mona snapped, reaching for him again.

 

Without a word Eric clamored onto my back. His added weight made movement difficult, but I was motivated. I turned on my heel with the barest instruction from Mona's body language, and charged back towards the wagon at as close to top speed that I could muster, my breath coming in panicked heaves, my hooves thundering on the icy pavement.

 

A cry went up from the wagon. I swung my head to see that one of the wheels looked lower than the rest. Tank and Elvis had stopped, champing their bits in frustration, held back by a concerned looking Dave. The flat paving of the lot was pocked with unseen craters and holes that I could easily avoid, but the wagon could not. With the layer of snow that coated everything and all the other humans tucked away in the wagon, Dave had not spotted the hazard until it was too late. The wheel fell in and stuck fast.

 

Mona brought me up beside the wagon, reining me to a stop. I bobbed my head distractedly, fighting for a bit of rein. Dave met her gaze from his perch, “If I ask the boys to haul us out we could do real damage to the wheel and we don't have the time or tools to fix that right now!”

 

“Can we afford to fight THAT?” Mona gestured to the oncoming zombies, their front ranks falling to gunfire and being churned under foot like leaves in a fall wind.

 

“We might have to!” Dave called back, snatching a shotgun from two hooks beside him and leveling it at the zombies. “Boys!” he called to the horses. “Lock up, now boys!”

 

Tank and Elvis tensed, standing rigid and tall, as firm as two ancient oaks. They showed no fear, steadfast and, in my opinion, as insane as Daisy to stare down do many attackers without so much as a twitch.

 

Eric, still sitting behind Mona on my back, gave several piercing whistles. His attack dogs surged into focused action, throwing themselves into the front ranks of the hoard. They grasped legs and arms, holding the zombies still. Seconds later bullets found their marks, sending the foul smelling creatures to the ground in unsightly piles.

 

The weight on my back shifted and I realized that Eric was sliding off. Before Mona could do anything to stop him the human dismounted and darted to the wagon. It was shut tight and it was clear that the humans inside were not about to open it for him. He didn't seem to mind, climbing up on one of the tall wheels, hooking his arm around a metal bar, and beginning to whistle more commands to his dogs.

 

Mona was asking me to be still so she could shoot, so I took the moment to locate Macy. She and the other pack dogs were huddled under the wagon. Presumably the zombies would only come after them there after all the humans, and probably the horses, were eaten.

 

The gunfire was maddening. I'd never been around so much before. It rattled in my brain, too loud, too close. I struggled to focus, waiting for the lightest command from Mona, hoping that it would be telling me to back off. Those zombies were getting pretty close now. The smell made me wish I could dunk my entire muzzle in a bucket of water to escape it.

 

The hoard reached the wagon. I expected Tank and Elvis to shy, or even to fight. Instead they stood firm as pillars. The zombies fairly bounced off them, armored as they were like extremely tall turtles. Both heavy horses would occasionally swing their heads to shove a zombie aside, but for the most part they let the hoard break over them. Water against a stone. The monsters weren't interested in them anyway. They only had eyes for Dave, up above on his perch. Mona and Dave worked to keep the zombies from reaching him, though the creatures climbed and clawed relentlessly. I suspected that, given enough time, they would reach him. There were just so many.

 

Something new cut through the gunfire. A high pitched squeal unlike anything I had ever heard. I couldn't help it, I swung my head around. Daisy streaked towards the hoard, a hawk diving for a kill. It seemed she had watched long enough and was ready to take action. I stared in unabashed awe and bafflement as the insane mare plunged into the hoard. She wasn't armored like me, the humans couldn't get close enough to try it, but it didn't seem to matter. She headbutted, kicked, struck out with her fore-hooves. Her eyes were wild and I felt the urge to back away from her more than the zombies. She plunged and bucked, hurling stinking bodies out of her path. The zombies barely defended themselves, still intent on their forward surge, seeking the humans.

 

Mona tucked a leg into my flank and I responded gratefully, side-stepping away from the wagon. Some of the zombies peeled off to follow us and she shot them easily, one by one, then reached into one of my saddle bags for more ammo.

 

“Mona! We could use a refill in here!” Called someone from the wagon.

 

“Right,” Mona said between gritted teeth. “Ready, Forest?”

 

No. But that didn't matter. She tucked her rifle into the holster that was strapped just in front of my shoulder, then took up my reins. She gave me a firm nudge with her heels and we were off. My metal shell clacked and sometimes slapped unpleasantly against me, but I did my best to ignore it. Mona spent me in a wide arc, circling the zombie hoard. I was relieved to see at last that they did not go on forever. There was an end to them and we skirted it. My hooves threatened to slip on the frosted pavement and Mona balanced herself to compensate before we both took a tumble. The thought of falling now, wrapped in all this metal and with all these monsters not a horse-length from me replaced being trapped in a pasture with Daisy as the most frightening thing I had imagined that day. I tucked up to keep all four hooves firmly under me, no wild maneuvers or fancy footwork. Normally I might have put my head down to pick my way more carefully, but there wasn't time for that. I had to trust my rider to counter-balance me and hope for the best.

 

The zombies followed our run, some just watching while the ones on the edges of the hoard peeled off to try for us. They were much too slow, though I did hear nails clawing against my metal shell. Were I not so focused on keeping my feet, I might have kicked.

 

When we reached the rear of the hoard Mona brought me to a stop, letting the monsters draw nearer, snagging more and more of their attention as the delicious human perched just outside their reach. My whole body trembled, not only with excursion, but with panic as I imagined Mona being pulled from my back, dragged down into the hoard. In my mind's eye I saw my human, just a heap of flesh on the ground as these foul smelling wolves devoured him. I couldn't lose another human like that. My muscles were taught as baling wire, but Mona still wasn't giving me my command. Every instinct in me screamed to bolt. Get her out of here. She was being stupid!

 

I heard my human's soft voice in my head. I could feel his grip on my reins instead of Mona's. His weight on my back. My imagined human reached down at patted my neck, as he would do after I handled a frightening situation well. _“You were a good boy for me every time, Kodiak”_ he said. _“Now be a good boy for her.”_

 

“Good boy,” Mona said between clenched teeth, almost as though she didn't know she was saying it.

 

I stood firm. Even as zombie hands, like claws, reached for me, close enough for me to bite them back. I stood firm. One nearly tangled a hand in my reins. I stood firm.

 

Just as a zombie managed to snatch hold of Mona's booted foot in my stirrup, there it was! The nudge to my sides, the tightening of the reins. I backed, twisted away, and ran! It was a risky move with all this ice, but we pulled it off. A chunk of my metal plating came loose and clattered to the pavement, but I little cared. We darted around the other side of the hoard, heading for the wagon again, baffled zombies chomping in our wake, wondering how their meal had escaped to quickly. Filled with a wild, defiant energy I tossed my head and Mona laughed.

 

We came abreast of the far side of the wagon and Mona pulled me up short. I swished my tail in greeting to Tank and Elvis. I'd never felt so utterly alive as I did in that moment. I took in great breaths of the icy air. No foe could touch me! I was powerful. I was HORSE!

 

“South side, incoming!” Mona shouted, then lobbed a satchel of ammo over the tall side and into the open top of the wagon. I heard it land somewhere within and a faint cheer went up from the humans. Mona nudged me forward again and we came back to our starting point to check on Eric.

 

He was no longer perching on a wagon wheel but down on the ground, fighting on foot. He was surprisingly nimble and was managing to keep just ahead of his attackers with the help of his dogs.

 

Some of the dogs were injured. It seemed a zombie would fight back, if only a little, to dislodge an animal gripping its limbs. The wounded dogs crawled under the wagon with Macy and the others, tails tucked, shivering, but still snarling.

 

Eric's luck couldn't last. As he darted in front of me he slipped and went down, sprawling. His gun flew from his grasp, skittering across the pavement. Mona swore, but didn't seem certain how to help. I wasn't a fighting horse like Daisy and if she rode me in close, she might very well be snatched from my back. I could tell she wasn't eager to dismount either. Perhaps she wasn't as good at dodging zombies as Eric or I.

 

A zombie pounced on Eric, pinning the struggling man to the ground. He rolled like an otter, arms up to hold the monster off him. Rather than screaming in panic, Eric whistled. One of the dogs, a large, fluffy beast with pointed ears, looked up from where she had pinned a different zombie, and dove for the one attacking Eric. The dog plowed into the zombie full force and knocked it from her human. She held the struggling creature down, its clawing hands grasping at the her thick coat. It must have hurt, but the dog didn't yelp or take one ounce of her weight from the struggling creature.

 

I Mona dropped my reins and snatching her rifle from its holster. Seconds later there was the expected BANG, and the zombie went still, a hole through its head. The dog, tongue lolling, darted away to the next threat as though this were all just another, enjoyable day. I shook my scruffy, cut-short mane. Dogs were just odd sometimes.

 

Mona selected another weapon from the vast array hanging all over me, and tossed it to Eric, who had gotten shakily to his feet. “Alright?” She asked.

 

“Will be!” He called back, snatching the gun from their air and checking it expertly before darting away again.

 

The attack went on. Mona and I worked to draw the zombies this way and that, as well as to resupply everyone with more ammo and guns. Daisy continued to plow into the zombie ranks like a living bullet. Her skin was scoured with shallow tears from their nails and teeth, but she didn't seem to notice or care. I doubted she would let the humans close enough to treat her injuries later, but perhaps she was so wild and spiteful, her force of will would keep her alive and healthy.

 

The dogs worked tirelessly, holding back zombie after zombie.

 

Even as my muscles shuddered with weariness, I drove onward, obeying Mona's slightest command as best I could. I would keep her alive. I was a good horse again.

 

I wasn't certain how long we fought, but I had seen the end of the hoard, and now I saw the end of the battle. The last of the zombies were flopping in the stained snow, missing limbs and groaning uselessly as the humans poured from the wagon, hurrying to finish off the wounded zombies, and then to work at the wagon wheel.

 

Mona and I patrolled, keeping an eye on the perimeter. I was noticeably lighter, as we had handed out much of the ammo I wore. More than anything I was dreaming of the rubdown Mona would give me when we got back to Windy Ridge. Even in this cold I had managed to work up a few foaming streaks of sweat along my neck. My fur was itchy and ruffled every which way by my metal shell. It took a great deal of willpower not to starting shaking violently in hopes of dislodging the stuff.

 

Once all the remaining zombies were dealt with, smelling no better in death than they did in life, everyone focused on the wagon. They all crowded around the wheel, preparing to lift the heavy wagon as one. Dave, now on the ground beside his two horses, urged the big animals to pull. This they did, and with a terrific, shuddering thump, the wagon came free. Dave hurried over to check the wheel, and after a moment of muffled muttering into his beard, he declared it sound. A ragged cheer went up from the humans.

 

The sun was nearly set, streaking crimson like blood across the top of the Walmart. Lanterns were hung from points on the wagon, but it was decided that it would be too dangerous to go into the darkened Walmart now. We turned around and began making our way back out of town. Back towards Windy Ridge, and brushes, and grain.

 

Macy trotted up beside me. All but the injured dogs were made to walk on the way back. Even most of the humans. The wagon was still quite full, even without the supplies from the Walmart, and it was clear that Tank and Elvis could walk faster with out an added burden. No one was keen to stay out on this frigid night longer than they had to.

 

 _Hey, Macy_ , I greeted my friend, my tone more jovial than I felt by far. I was aching all over, muscle and bone. My high spirits and wild energy were ebbing from me with each step. Mona sagged wearily in my saddle.

 

 _Hey Kodiak... I mean Forest_. Macy trotted beside me, her laden pack swaying on her back.

 

 _That sure was something huh?_ I cut a glance back towards Daisy, who was following at her usual distance, jogging along easily, as though she hadn't just fought a hoard of monsters. _What do you think? Can you live this life?_

 

Macy tilted her head in consideration. A n _ice place to sleep, good food and kind humans.... occasional life or death situations?_ Her tongue lolled and her stump tail gave a little wag. _Yeah. I think so. You?_

 

 _Yeah,_ I swished my tail, bizarrely happy, as tired as I was. Pleased to have Mona on my back and to be useful again. She'd given the man, Aimes, an “ _I told you so_ ” look when he'd walked near us. I bobbed my head and she let me have a bit of rein. I gave my dog companion a smile. _Yeah, I think I can._

 

The End

 


End file.
